Shared commitments to conservation: 2000 Annual Report of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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Shared Commitments to
Conservation
2000 Annual Report of the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
ERRATA SHEET
FISCAL YEAR 2000 ANNUAL REPORT
U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE
Subsequent to printing of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Fiscal Year 2000 Annual Report, the following errors
were detected. Errors and their corrections are cited below.
Page 37, Subtitle, Analysis of Revenues and Financing Sources, first sentence, as printed,
reads, “In FY 2000, the Service’s total financing sources amounted to $2.282 billion, which is....”
This sentence should read, “In FY 2000, the Service’s total financing sources amounted to $2.263
billion, which is....”
Page 40, CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION, Construction in
Progress (Note 6), amount as printed, reads, “$2,829"
This amount should read, “$82,829"
Page 42, Heading, CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF NET COST FOR THE YEAR
ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2000
“(DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)” should be included as the final line of this heading
Pages 50, Note 9. Unexpended Appropriations. As printed, this Note and its text should be
placed in front of the table, titled Unexpended Appropriations as of September 30, 2000, found on
Page 49 of the report at the bottom of the third column.
Page 80, Heading, Supplemental Information, Performance Costs under the Service’s Program
Goals.
“(Dollars in Thousands)” should be included as the final line of this heading
2000 Annual Report i
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
History and Mission
As an asset of tremendous
environmental, recreational, and
economic importance, this nation’s fish
and wildlife resources represent a vital
part of our natural heritage — one that
is facing increasing pressures every
day. For this reason, the mission of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
grows more complex and critical every
day. As the Service continues to look
for new and better ways to conserve,
protect, and enhance fish and wildlife
and their habitat, its major
responsibilities remain focused on
migratory birds, endangered species,
certain marine mammals, and freshwater
and anadromous fish.
History of the Service
The Service’s origins date back to 1871
when Congress established the U.S. Fish
Commission to study the decrease in the
nation’s food fish and recommend ways
to reverse the decline. Placed under the
Department of Commerce in 1903, it
was renamed the Bureau of Fisheries.
Meanwhile Congress created an Office
of Economic Ornithology in the
Department of Agriculture in 1885 to
study the food habits and migratory
patterns of birds, especially those that
had an effect on agriculture. After
several more name changes, this office
was renamed the Bureau of Biological
Survey in 1905.
The Bureaus of Fisheries and Biological
Survey were transferred to the
Department of the Interior in 1939 and
in 1940 were combined and named the
Fish and Wildlife Service. Further
reorganization came in 1956 when the
Fish and Wildlife Act created the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service and
established within the agency two
separate bureaus — Commercial
Fisheries and Sport Fisheries and
Wildlife.
The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries
was transferred to the Department of
Commerce in 1970 and is now known as
the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and
Wildlife remained in Interior. In 1974,
the “Bureau” name was dropped and the
agency is now simply called the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1993, the
Service’s research activities were
transferred to the U.S. Geological
Survey.
Today, Service employees number
approximately 7,500 individuals located
close to fish and wildlife resources
throughout the country. Offices and
facilities are located in Washington, D.C.,
seven regional offices, and in nearly
700 field units, including 70 national fi
sh hatcheries and over 500 national
wildlife refuges.
Mission of the Service
The Service’s mission is, working with
others, to conserve, protect and enhance
fish, wildlife and plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the
American people.
Since before recorded history, fish and
wildlife resources in the United States
have been an integral part of human life.
We know that the earliest Americans
depended on fish and wildlife for
both life sustenance and spiritual
nourishment. The kinship of aboriginal
Americans to these resources is seen
today in their religious and cultural
activities. The sea turtle is viewed as the
symbol of eternal life with the great
creator. Salmon and other anadromous
fishes were and still are celebrated as
symbols of the renewal of life. Wildlife
served as the spiritual connection with
ones ancestors and the creator of all life.
When settlers came to America, they
found a land teeming with wildlife. Like
Native Americans, they depended on the
land’s rich wildlife heritage for food and
clothing. Colonies were located near
rivers for commerce and travel and for a
rich supply of fish and wildlife for food.
The new settlers fully intended that
freedom to hunt for food and to secure
water for life would be the right of all,
regardless of heritage or status. The
framers of our Constitution recognized
this and placed great emphasis on
natural rights and natural laws. Because
of the American ideal to respect fish and
wildlife as a resource available for the
use and enjoyment of all, it is revered as
a public trust resource — a resource
deserving the public’s attention and
participatory guidance. The United
States continues to refine the body of
case law and statutes governing the
stewardship of fish and wildlife
resources.
Communities and people throughout the
United States have a strong commitment
to the fish and wildlife resources today.
Many communities realize tremendous
economic benefits from tourism and
visitors that come specifically to enjoy
watching and pursuing fish and wildlife.
Hunting and fishing remain strong
components of community culture all
along the great river systems of the
nation. Americans value and respect
their natural resource heritage.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has
the privilege of being the primary
agency responsible for the protection,
conservation, and renewal of these
resources for this and future
generations. We accept this
responsibility and challenge with
optimism and resolve to pass along to
future generations of stewards a fish and
wildlife resource heritage that is as
strong or stronger than when it was
entrusted to us.
ii U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
2000 Annual Report iii
Message from the Acting Director
and the Chief Financial Officer
The year 2000 marks the turn of the
millenium, an event of a lifetime that
only a few generations will experience.
We are fortunate to be of this time and at
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is
true in more ways than one. Through
our cooperative efforts with our public
and partners, we are maximizing our
effectiveness on the ground. Together we
are magnifying our conservation efforts
and reaping the benefits of our shared
commitments to conservation.
The Service, by applying the ecosystem
approach to natural resource
management, is putting into practice
ecosystem principles such as cross
program collaboration within the Service
and partnership building outside the
Service. Ecosystem strategies are
designed to meet the collective needs
of natural resource regions in the
aggregate. Our collective strength lies
in the diversity of our partners and in
the effectiveness of our programs. Our
joint effectiveness lies in our ability to
find common benefits by dovetailing
priorities and challenges on the
landscape level. We are building a
future for shared commitments to
conservation through building lasting
partnerships today.
This Annual Report is testimony to our
partnerships that have enhanced fish and
wildlife resources through innovative
and cooperative management. It
provides a road map of the Service’s
future direction, an overview of the
Service’s diverse programs and
accomplishments, and an accounting for
the funds used by the Service. The
Stewardship and Program Highlights
sections provide detailed information on
the role of the Service in maintaining
healthy environments that fish and
wildlife need throughout the nation and
the world. Under Supplemental
Information, the Service provides
information on the costs of attaining
performance under each of the Service’s
mission goals established for Fffi 2000.
We hope that this report helps you
better understand what we do, how
much fish and wildlife and plants
depend on our shared commitments to
conservation, the costs of our efforts,
and how much more we can accomplish
by working together.
Marshall P. Jones, Jr.
Acting Director,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
iv U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USFWS/Dan O’Neal
2000 Annual Report v
Table of Contents
I. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
History and Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
Message from the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
II. Program Highlights
Sustaining Fish and Wildlife Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Conserving Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Linking Wildlife and People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
III. Stewardship
Stewardship Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Heritage Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
IV. Financial Statements
Overview of Financial Results of Service Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Principal Financial Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Notes To Principal Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Auditor’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
V. Supplemental Information
Performance Costs under the Service’s Performance Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
vi U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USFWS/Craig Koppie
2000 Annual Report 1
Meeting the challenges of providing and
protecting a healthy environment for fish
and wildlife and for people is central to
the programs of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) and is firmly
based on tradition since its predecessor
agencies were established more than a
century ago. Meeting these challenges
requires the cooperation and support of
other Federal agencies, State and local
governments, foreign governments,
conservation groups, and local
communities. Dedicated Americans,
combined with our dedicated
International partners, are sharing a
common commitment to conservation
and are working hand-in-hand with the
Service to ensure that our Nation’s
irreplaceable natural heritage and the
world’s fish and wildlife resources are
protected for the enjoyment of this and
future generations.
Portions of this narrative reference
specific program accomplishments
achieved under the Service’s mission or
strategic goals identified in its revised
5-Year Strategic Plan. This year the
Service selected a subset of specific
strategic goals, one for each of the three
mission goals, under which to report
specific program performance in this
report. Another, more comprehensive
report on all program achievements
under each strategic and mission goal
presented in the Service’s 5-Year
Strategic Plan can be found in the
Service’s budget documents. The
purpose of this report is to highlight
general program achievements of the
Service, in cooperation with its partners,
in a structure that parallels its three
mission goals which are: (1) sustaining
fish and wildlife populations; (2)
conserving habitat; and, (3) linking
wildlife and people through fostering
public use and enjoyment of fish and
wildlife resources. Further, the Service
completed its Statement of Net Cost,
whereby the Service identifies its
expenditures to meet each of the three
mission goals. Please refer to both
sections, the Message from the Chief
Financial Officer and the Financial
Statements, for detailed information on
how the Service identified these costs
and allocated them to each mission goal.
Sustaining Fish and
Wildlife Populations
Many of the nation’s and the world’s
native fish, wildlife and plant populations
are declining or are at historic low levels
due to habitat degradation, inadequate
fish passage, over-use, poaching, illegal
trade in wildlife and wildlife products,
introductions of invasive or
nonindigenous species, poor land
management practices, or urbanization.
In partnership with other Federal, State
and tribal governments, foreign
governments, and a variety of private
interests, the Service is effectively
contributing to the conservation of fish,
wildlife and plants, both nationally and
worldwide.
The Service emphasizes proactive
species conservation for many species of
fish, wildlife, and plants through the
Candidate Conservation Program.
Candidate species are species for which
the Service has sufficient biological
information to indicate that listing is
warranted. The goal of our Candidate
Conservation Program is to prevent
listing of species under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA). This program takes a
collaborative approach with States and
Territories, other Federal agencies and
the private sector to identify species that
need conservation and then
cooperatively conserve those species.
Early action is important because
simpler, more cost-effective conservation
options are made available and
conservation is more likely to be
ultimately successful. Also, potential
conflicts caused by species listing may be
avoided and flexibility for landowners
and land managers can be maintained.
Through Candidate Conservation
Agreements (CCAs), the Service works
with its partners to identify threats to
candidate species, plan measures needed
to stabilize and conserve them, identify
willing landowners, develop and
implement conservation measures, and
monitor their effectiveness. Candidate
Conservation Agreements with
Assurances assure non-federal landowners
that they can continue agreed-upon
activities even if the species becomes
listed in the future. Landowners are
Program Highlights
Shared Commitments to Conservation
2 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
increasingly working with the Service to
undertake conservation efforts for
candidate species, and in return, are
receiving regulatory assurances. The
Service uses both CCAs and Candidate
Conservation Agreements with
Assurances to work with partners to
conserve species. In some cases, such as
the Pecos pupfish and Goodings onion,
conservation has precluded the need to
list. During FY 2000, the Service
implemented more than five
conservation agreements covering six
species, for which the Service hopes to
prevent listing. Monitoring of CCAs
ensures that biological goals for the
covered species are achieved and that
threats to the species are reduced. As
the success for this program grows, so
does the demand for new agreements.
Even with these successes, there is much
work to be done. As of August 16, 2000,
246 plant and animal species were
candidates for listing under the ESA,
more than 100 of which are highly
threatened with extinction. Another 37
species proposed for listing can benefit
from candidate conservation actions. As
of August 3, 2000, the Service had 14
active lawsuits covering more than 23
species regarding petition findings, 7
active lawsuits covering more than 9
species regarding final determinations,
33 active lawsuits covering more than
329 species regarding critical habitat,
and 4 active lawsuits covering more than
4 species regarding merit challenges. In
addition, the Service received 67 Notices
of Intent (NOIs) to sue (involving more
than 193 species) relative to listing
activities. The Service developed a
prioritized list of listing actions for each
region that specifies how the FY 2000
appropriation for listing activities was
spent. Available funding and the number
of court ordered listing actions the
Service must complete this year limits
the number of new species that can be
proposed for listing this fiscal year.
Significant progress has been made in
recovery actions for listed species.
Eighty percent of all listed species have
approved recovery plans, up from 70
percent in FY 1999. It is the Service’s
policy to have recovery plans completed
30 months after final listing and, as a
Goodings Onion
The Service
entered into a
new national
partnership
with the Center
for Plant
Conservation
that will
enhance the
recovery of
listed plants.
USFWS Photo
2000 Annual Report 3
result, new recovery plans are being
prepared for the more than 75 species
listed in FY 1998 and FY 1999.
In FY 2000, the Service greatly
expanded its recovery partnerships with
states, tribes, counties, organizations,
universities, zoos and aquaria,
corporations, and private landowners.
For example, a new national partnership
was created with the Center for Plant
Conservation through a Memorandum
of Understanding that will enhance the
recovery of listed plants. A consortium
of 29 botanical gardens and arboreta
throughout the U.S. supports the
Center and is the only national
organization dedicated exclusively to
conserving rare U.S. plants.
With its partners, Federal, State, and
local government agencies, Tribal
governments, industry, universities,
conservation groups, and interested
individuals, the Service evaluated the
current status and population trends of
imperiled native fishes and conducted
130 projects in 25 ecosystems involving
65 imperiled aquatic species in FY 2000.
Common goals and mutual benefits
resulting from native fish conservation
were identified and put into action. For
example, the Grand Portage Tribe and
the Service conducted a telemetry study
of the imperiled coaster brook trout
movement in Lake Superior and
identified critical lakeshore habitats that
are and will continue to be important to
coaster brook trout restoration. Also,
the Service conducted studies on the
Tombigbee River in Alabama to restore
Gulf race striped bass, the threatened
Gulf Sturgeon, Alabama shad,
paddlefish, river redhorse, and other
native species. Recommendations
from this study will assist the Corps
of Engineers in their operation of the
Coffeeville Lock and Dam, which could
help restore approximately 97 river
miles of historic habitat. Further, the
Service monitored the presence and
distribution of endangered winter run
and threatened spring run Chinook
salmon in the Sacramento/San Joaquin
Delta and Estuary. Information
gathered contribute to water allocation
decisions, which are critical to the
survival of endangered salmon
smolts in the delta.
Service Hatcheries also work with
surrogates for listed fish species,
developing holding and propagation
methods without risk to severely
depleted populations and increasingly
with imperiled species, often obviating
the need for further ESA listings.
Restoring depleted native fish not yet
federally listed, such as the paddlefish
and lake sturgeon strengthens
populations before they decline to levels
that demand extreme actions. These
efforts are conducted in concert with the
ecosystem approach and aid in the
achievement of Service goals focused on
restoring depleted species.
Service Hatcheries are involved in
several cooperative ecosystem team
projects to recover inland aquatic
species other than fish, such as the
endangered Wyoming toad, the fat
pocketbook pearly mussel, and the
Higgins-eye pearly mussel by applying
captive propagation technologies and
providing refugia. Hatcheries developed
and refined culture and refugia
techniques for some of the nearly
200 native mussels species listed as
endangered, threatened, or of special
concern. The Service listed Texas
wildrice as an endangered species in
1978, and since 1996 Service Hatcheries
have played a crucial role in its
conservation. About 200 wildrice plants
are kept at the San Marcos National
Fish Hatchery and Technology Center
and an additional 30 wildrice plants are
maintained at Uvalde NFH (TX).
Through implementing recovery actions,
the Service and its many cooperators
reversed the decline for many listed
species. Approximately 40 percent of all
species listed for ten years or more now
have numbers that are increasing or
stable.
Landowners
are working
with the Service
to conserve
candidate
species and,
in return, are
receiving
regulatory
assurances.
USFWS/Gerry Atwell
Pickerel Frog
4 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
A growing number of species are at
the point where they can be delisted
or reclassified (downlisted) from
endangered to threatened. The Dismal
Swamp southeastern shrew and the
Aleutian Canada goose were delisted in
FY 2000. Species proposed for delisting
include the bald eagle, Hoover’s wooly
star, Gulf Coast population of the brown
pelican, Douglas County population of
the Columbian white-tailed deer, Tinian
Monarch, and northern population of
the tidewater goby. In July 2000, the
Service proposed to downlist and delist
the gray wolf throughout its range in
the lower 48 states. This represents a
significant milestone in the recovery of
the gray wolf.
An increasingly valuable tool is the use
of experimental populations to facilitate
the reintroduction of listed species to
their historic ranges. A proposed rule to
establish the seventh experimental
population reintroduction for the black-footed
ferret, this one on the Cheyenne
River Sioux Reservation in South
Dakota, was published in July. A new
migratory experimental population of
whooping cranes was introduced this
year. Also, progress was made this year
on experimental population designations
for restoring the grizzly bear to the
Bitterroot Mountains in Idaho and
Montana, for improving 16 species of
listed freshwater mussels populations in
Alabama and 4 species of fishes in the
Tellico River, Tennessee.
Another tool integral to the Service’s
overall effort to protect and recover
endangered species is the Service’s law
enforcement program. Service agents
develop partnerships with conservation
groups, State and Federal agencies, and
others, to promote a greater
understanding of the need for
endangered species protection and the
consequences of violating related
Federal and State laws. Special agents
assist in habitat conservation planning
and play a major role in evaluating and
monitoring incidental take permits to
ensure compatibility with current laws
and permit holder compliance. Other law
enforcement efforts that protect and
recover endangered species include
increased patrols to deter would-be
violators, expanded efforts to detect and
prevent the introduction of invasive
species, and additional cooperative
enforcement ventures to reduce
commercial exploitation.
The work of the Service and its
cooperators and partners are showing
results. Under mission goal 1, Sustaining
Fish and Wildlife Populations, and
strategic goal 1.2 entitled, “Imperiled
Species,” the Service set a goal in FY
2000 to stabilize or improve 37 percent of
or 197 threatened or endangered species
populations listed for a decade or more.
The baseline figure for this goal is 532
species. Also, the Service wanted to
preclude 15 species in decline from the
need for listing under the ESA. To
assess whether goals were achieved, the
Service proposed the following
performance targets for FY 2000: (1)
improve or stabilize 197 species listed a
decade or more; (2) approve 15 species
for removal from candidate or proposed
status; (3) remove 10 species from
proposed or candidate status as a result
of conservation agreements; (4) include 8
species in proposed rules to delist or
USFWS/Hollingsworth
In July 2000,
the Service
proposed to
downlist and
delist the gray
wolf throughout
its range in
the lower 48
states. This is
a significant
milestone in the
recovery of the
gray wolf.
USFWS Photo
Gray Wolf
Black-footed Ferret
2000 Annual Report 5
downlist; (5) include 7 species in final
rules to delist or downlist; (6) protect,
restore or enhance 3 million total acres
under HCPs; and, (7) enhance 300
species by protecting them under HCPs.
The Service exceeded its first and second
performance targets by improving or
stabilizing 309 species that have been
listed for one decade or more and by
approving 19 species for removal from
candidate or proposed status. The third
target was not met because of the time
that is required, sometimes up to several
years, before an agreement is reached
and signed by all parties. Additionally,
depending on the biological status of the
candidate species, agreements, although
useful in improving the conservation of
the species, may come about too late and
the species may need to be listed. In
these cases, the conservation agreement
can be the basis for a recovery plan for
the species. However, candidate
conservation agreements, if
implemented early enough in the decline
of a species, or used for species that has
few threats or threats that are easier to
reduce, may result in not needing to list
the species. Only 2 and 1 species
benefited under the Service’s efforts this
year for the fourth and fifth targets,
respectively. The proposed performance
targets for proposed and final rules for
downlistings and delisting were not met
because three proposed rules for the
bald eagle, gray wolf, and brown pelican
required extensive policy decisions,
coordination, review, and revisions within
the Service that affected the timely
processing of other rules. Although the
Service did not meet its sixth
performance target, it still protected,
restored or enhanced over 127 thousand
acres this fiscal year, almost reaching the
3 million acre goal for total acres
protected, restored or enhanced under
HCPs. The Service exceeded its seventh
goal by protecting 415 species under
HCPs.
The Service works with external
partners to protect fish, wildlife and
plant resources to prevent their decline
before they need the special attention
made possible under the ESA. For
fisheries, the Service provides scientific
expertise and technical assistance to
tribes, other Federal agencies, foreign
governments, States, and other
programs of the Service to develop and
implement anadromous fishery
management plans. These plans cover
such culturally and economically
significant species as Pacific and Atlantic
salmon, Pacific steelhead trout,
American shad, sturgeon, American eel,
and striped bass. Service fishery
biologists help with restoring fisheries
through identifying and protecting
crucial fish habitats; monitoring water
quality and quantity; repairing degraded
habitats; and providing unhampered fish
passage. Service biologists assess the
abundance, recruitment, and limiting
factors of wild fish stocks to establish
safe harvest limits, evaluate
management strategies, and design
hatchery products that contribute to
species and habitat restoration.
USFWS/Gary M. Stolz
USFWS Photo
The Service
works with
external
partners to
develop fishery
management
plans for such
significant
species as the
striped bass.
Brown Pelican
Striped Bass
6 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Another important fishery resource
management program helping our
partners is the National Broodstock
Program, which was established over 25
years ago to ensure the availability of
adequate numbers of disease free,
genetically distinct strains of trout eggs
needed to meet the production needs of
the National Fish Hatchery System. The
broodstock program hatcheries
produced millions of trout eggs that
were provided to Service hatcheries,
State cooperators, other Federal
agencies, research institutions, and
universities. These eggs were used by
the Service and State cooperators to
support critical restoration efforts (i.e.,
stocking of lake trout in the Great
Lakes), meet mitigation responsibilities
as the result of Federal water
development projects, and provide
recreational fishing opportunities for the
50 million people who fish annually.
Within its Federal leadership role, the
Service maintains desired strains of
broodstocks to meet the restoration and
mitigation needs of the different aquatic
systems throughout the United States.
Approximately 22 different strains of
trout including rainbow, brown, brook,
lake, and cutthroat are available through
the National Broodstock Program. The
Service continues to receive requests
from State cooperators for additional
strains needed to meet specific fishery
management needs. Strain Management
Plans are being developed for all
broodstocks currently held on Service
facilities. The plans ensure that all
Service broodstocks are properly
managed using established guidelines
for maintaining genetic integrity.
In addition to freshwater and
anadromous species, the Service
emphasizes species conservation and
protection for marine species. Pursuant
to the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA), the Service manages the
northern sea otter in Alaska and
Washington State, polar bear and Pacific
walrus in Alaska, and supports efforts to
recover the listed southern sea otter in
California and the West Indian manatee
in Florida and Puerto Rico. Marine
mammal populations are protected and
enhanced through enforcement,
education, and outreach efforts by
Service biologists.
The Service works closely with Canada
to obtain information on the
management of polar bear populations.
Based on an evaluation of new data
provided and criteria established under
the MMPA, the Service approved two
additional populations from which polar
bears can be sustainably taken under
Canada’s polar bear management plan.
Sea otters have benefited from
cooperative conservation in FY 2000. As
a result of an investigation of a sea otter
that was found shot, a reward of $25,000
was offered to anyone knowing about the
incident. Also, agents have been working
with the California Department of Fish
and Game in learning about the loss of
sea otters from the results of their
necropsy. Service agents provided
assistance to the Monterey Bay
Aquarium, California Department of
Fish and Game, Moss Landing Harbor
Master, and other partners in educating
boat users about the presence of sea
otters and measures they could take to
minimize boat strikes of sea otters.
Migratory birds depending on coastal
and marine environments are receiving
the cooperative attention of the Service
and its partners through the U.S.
National Shorebird Conservation Plan.
This comprehensive plan for the
conservation of shorebirds, the product
of numerous interagency working
groups, was completed in April 2000.
It provides the blueprint that will
allow Federal and State agencies and
non-governmental organizations to
implement effective and responsible
management strategies that will ensure
the long-term conservation of the
nation’s shorebird resources. In FY 2000
Service Law Enforcement
Initiatives — Providing Long-Term
Benefits for the Florida Manatee
Service efforts to protect the
Florida manatee were highlighted
this year by a series of law
enforcement task force initiatives
in areas where manatees continue
to die from boat strikes. Service
law enforcement officers working
details are seeing improved boater
compliance within manatee
protection zones. Service law
enforcement officials are optimistic
about the continued, long-term
benefits to manatees from
educating the public about
manatees and improving boater
compliance with protective
measures.
Manatee
USFWS Photo
2000 Annual Report 7
the Service has 10 active projects where
migratory bird biologists are directly
involved in conservation activities for
shorebirds. These projects include work
such as monitoring and surveying at
remote Pacific Islands to providing
technical assistance to refuges, states,
and private landowners.
Another complex problem with
managing migratory birds is that birds
are lost through colliding with
communication towers. Published
accounts of birds striking tall, lit
structures date back to 1880, with the
first detailed long-term studies on tower
strikes having begun in 1955. In 1979,
the Service estimated bird mortality
from tower strikes at 1.3 million, based
on 505 tall towers. Today, with at least
50,000 lit towers over 199 ft. tall,
conservative estimates put annual
mortality at 4-5 million birds and
number of species affected are on the
rise. Some 350-species of songbirds
collide with communication towers.
Thrushes, vireos, and warblers
apparently are the most vulnerable.
There is growing concern with this issue
and in FY 2000, 36 members of the
Communication Tower Working Group
approved the framework for a
nationwide research protocol and the
statement of work calling for research
proposals and budgets for pilot studies.
With assistance from non-government
partners, the Service anticipates that
pilot studies could begin as early as the
beginning of the next fiscal year. These
pilot studies will provide the base upon
which to design solutions to minimize or
avoid bird losses.
Sometimes populations must be
managed to reduce their numbers
because of conflicts with human uses or
with human infrastructure. In response
to numerous complaints from sport
anglers and others regarding conflicts
with growing numbers of cormorants,
the Service embarked on an effort to
develop an Environmental Impact
Statement for the double-crested
cormorant that will result in a national
cormorant management plan. The public
scoping phase began November 8, 1999,
and ended June 30, 2000, and during that
time 12 public meetings were held
around the U.S. and about 1,500 written
comments were received. Interest is
high and the Service is working to
complete the draft EIS by early fall. In
order to complete the EIS timely,
information collection is essential. For
example, double-crested cormorants at
several colonies in Green Bay, Wisconsin
are being banded to determine local
movements, migration pathways,
wintering areas, and survival rates. This
information will allow the Service to
better understand the population
dynamics of this species and how it may
be affected if population control efforts
are undertaken in the future.
Overabundance of the mid-continent
populations of light geese (lesser snow
geese and Ross’ geese) is being
addressed by the Service and its
partners through aggressive actions
aimed at reducing their numbers. Action
plans are a cooperative effort between
federal refuges and state wildlife
agencies to increase harvest of snow
geese and reduce availability of food to
snow geese on federal and state lands.
Methods to reduce the availability of
food include reforestation, decreased
planting of row crops, and decreasing
the size of controlled burns to prevent
attracting geese. Harvests are
increasing through several methods. One
initiative involves opening portions of
previously closed refuges to hunting of
light geese and developing an
information network to inform hunters
of current locations of light goose flocks
is one method. Part of this initiative
includes developing, in cooperation with
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, a
brochure for hunters using state wildlife
areas and national wildlife refuges.
Brochures describe the damage to
habitat resulting from overabundance,
provide a guide to goose identification,
explain hunter ethics and present ideas
for hunter safety, and suggest snow
goose recipes.
Migratory
birds depending
on coastal
and marine
environments
are receiving
the cooperative
attention of the
Service and
its partners
through the
U.S. National
Shorebird
Conservation
Plan.
USFWS/Rodney Krey
Forster’s Tern with Eggs
8 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Another method to reduce populations is
by changing hunting regulations and
issuing conservation orders that manage
population numbers. As a result, the
harvest of light geese last year was up 40
percent over previous years. Prior to
implementing the special light goose
hunting regulations, the harvest of light
geese during regular seasons was
approximately 600,000 birds. Adding
harvests from special regulations and
the conservation order to the regular
season harvest resulted in a total light
goose harvest of over 1 million. Further,
the Service authorized additional
methods of take, such as electronic calls
and unplugged shotguns to increase
harvest of light geese during the regular
season in the Mississippi and Central
Flyways. In addition, States closed other
waterfowl and crane seasons in order to
implement the special light goose
regulations. With these new
management tools, the Service expects
that total harvest of light geese in the
future will once again be over 1 million
birds.
International partnerships to protect
and conserve fish, wildlife and plants
throughout the world are as diverse as
domestic partnerships forged to protect
and conserve our Nation’s resources.
Global wildlife conservation relies on
international cooperation, education and
enforcement at all levels. Not only is the
Service advising foreign governments,
but also the Service is a catalyst for
community conservation action at the
individual and local level in foreign
nations.
Invasive species stole the headlines in
FY 2000 as Americans felt the effects of
invasive species in their own back yards.
Starlings, brown tree snakes, Killer
bees, Asian tiger mosquitoes, kudzu,
swamp eels, feral pigs, Asian longhorn
beetles, Nile crocodiles, capuchin
monkeys, and West Nile virus are all
invasive species that have come to this
country from somewhere else. These and
other invasive species have profoundly
impacted every state and ecosystem in
the United States. A recent study
estimates that invasive cost Americans
more than $130 billion per year.
The Service has a vital role to play in
preventing the intentional introduction
of potentially invasive species, before
they are allowed into the country. To this
end, the Service is supporting
development of a Global Invasive Species
Database and Early Warning System by
the Global Invasive Species Program
(GISP), a consortium of the Scientific
Committee on Problems of the
Environment (SCOPE), the World
Conservation Union (IUCN), and the
Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau
International (CABI). The database and
warning system will serve as a new tool,
providing ready access to information for
dealing with invasive species issues.
Although some plants may be found in
the invasives repertoire, many more
have served long and well as healing
herbs, minimizing ailments ranging from
asthma to congestive heart failure. The
market for medicinal herbs in the U.S. is
worth more than $3 billion and is
growing at a rate of about 20 percent per
year. At least 175 species of plants native
to North America are offered for sale in
the non-prescription medicinal market in
the U.S; and more than 140 medicinal
herbs native to North America have
been documented in herbal products and
phytomedicines in foreign countries.
Though agencies
aim to be
transparent,
the public is not
always aware of
the many steps
required to bring
sustainable
resources to
market.
Something as
basic as a tag
determines
whether
furbearers,
such as the river
otter, and…
USFWS Photo
USFWS/F.Eugene Hester USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
Snowgeese
River Otter with Fish
Hunting
2000 Annual Report 9
Dozens and possibly hundreds of these
are collected in large quantities from the
wild in the United States.
To address the threat of overharvest of
native medicinal plants, the Service
facilitates the Medicinal Plant Working
Group, an organization made up of
almost 200 members representing
industry, government, academia, Tribes,
and environmental organizations that
operate under the umbrella of the Plant
Conservation Alliance (PCA), a
consortium of ten U.S. federal
government member agencies and more
than 145 non-federal cooperators
representing various disciplines of plant
conservation. The Medicinal Plant
Working Group established a strategic
plan and is beginning to take such steps
to achieve its objectives. The Working
Group is selecting species of concern for
each region of the country for which
conservation measures will be developed
and is providing a list suggested actions
that the public can take to help conserve
medicinals, such as buying products
from cultivated sources.
Sometimes medicines incorporate animal
as well as plant materials. The Service
pays particular attention to the
ingredient list when these animals are
protected species such as tigers and
rhinoceroses. As a responsibility under
the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation
Act, the Service is developing public
outreach efforts to emphasize that trade
and sale of tiger products is prohibited.
Two public meetings solicited input on a
draft outreach plan and sought partners
in the traditional Oriental medicine
communities to implement it. The
meetings were held in New York City
and San Francisco, localities with
significant numbers of traditional
Oriental medicine practitioners and
users. As resource pressures increase
with increased global trade, the Service
expects to be working with many new
conservation partners. Outreach to the
traditional Oriental medicine community
in the U.S. may provide one such
opportunity to develop a new partner.
The Service is striving to increase its
success stories with the regulated public.
For example, the nesting grounds of the
threatened spectacled eider have been
identified and are better understood
because permits allowed scientists to
implant transmitters on birds to monitor
their movements and migrations. Many
programs within the Service, such as
Migratory Birds, Law Enforcement,
Endangered Species, and International
Affairs, are working together to
streamline the process for the public,
improve opportunities for partnership
and promote customer service both
outside and inside the agency.
One important aspect of reform is the
Service’s proposed policy on General
Conservation permits. This proposed
policy recognizes scientific and
conservation organizations working
to conserve protected species as our
partners. The policy limits the use
of general conservation permits to
…American
alligator skins
are verified as
legal and
biologically
sustainable.
USFWS/George Gentry
State and Service
cooperation for
the sustainable
use of American
alligators
represents
stewardship in
action.
non-commercial scientific research and
conservation activities, and bases the
scope of authorization on the degree of
risk to the species and its habitat.
Though government agencies aim to be
transparent, the public is not always
aware of the many steps required to
bring sustainable resources to market.
Something as basic as a tag determines
whether furbearers (lynx, bobcat, river
otter) and American alligator skins are
verified as legal and biologically
sustainable. The sustainable use of
American alligators represents
stewardship in action. In cooperation
with State partners, the Service has
developed a new CITES export program
tag that meets CITES requirements for
product marking and passes both the
durability and ease-of-use test required
by resource producers and State wildlife
personnel.
American Alligator
10 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Partnership does not stop at U.S.
borders. Working with partners to build
consensus on species conservation
proved effective at the 11th Conference of
the Parties to CITES (COP). In
partnership with Germany, the U.S.
submitted a discussion paper on the
trade in freshwater turtles and tortoises
to Southeast Asia. At the Conference,
U.S. delegates participated in a working
group on this issue, chaired by Germany
and conducted in partnership with the
Southeast Asian Parties. A subsequent
adoption of a CITES resolution and
agreement on holding a workshop on this
important conservation issue could not
have happened without significant
cooperation among these Party nations.
Similar cooperation occurred with India
and other tiger range states, which
resulted in establishing a special law
enforcement task force to address the
poaching of tigers and illegal sale of tiger
parts. As the primary importer of caviar
from Caspian Sea sturgeon, the U.S.,
through the Service, works with caviar
exporting countries, such as the Russian
Federation and Iran to adopt a uniform
labeling system for caviar exports.
International conventions work
best when on-the-ground support is
provided to range countries for species
conservation. This occurs through small
grants, such as the Rhinoceros and Tiger
Conservation Fund, which provides
critical seed money for conservation
projects in range countries. One
remarkable example of the Fund’s
commitment to help local people meet
species conservation goals may be found
in Cambodia, now recovering from more
than 30 years of social upheaval and war
that have all but destroyed the nation’s
capacity to conduct research and
conservation. As a result, the status of
Cambodia’s biodiversity and keystone
species such as elephant, tiger, and gaur,
is unknown. Wide spread trade of
endangered species within Cambodia is
believed to be due to lack of regulations
and government policy on biodiversity
conservation; lack of action by local law
enforcement authorities due to their
limited knowledge; and low salaries,
and lack of national and international
cooperation. Other contributing factors
are absence of hunter participation in
wildlife conservation issues and decision-making,
local beliefs in magical and
medical power of wildlife products, and
strong international trade pressure from
neighboring countries. In an attempt to
assess this trade more accurately, an
official of the Cambodian Wildlife
Protection Office, as part of his graduate
work at the University of Minnesota,
conducted a survey of 24 Cambodian
USFWS Photo
The Service
supports
training to
strengthen the
capacity of
communities to
manage natural
resources in the
Special
Biosphere
Reserve of the
Monarch
Butterfly in
central Mexico.
Monarch Butterfly
2000 Annual Report 11
wildlife markets and 12 international
checkpoints. He observed eight live
wild caught tigers, 36 tiger skins, 5 kg
of tiger bone, 6 tiger skulls, 43 tiger
canine teeth, more than 50 tiger claws,
and 1 tiger penis in trade. His data on
where tiger parts are sold, trade routes,
and prices paid will be used to generate
recommendations to the Government
of Cambodia on a conservation strategy
to reduce killing and trade of
endangered species.
Also this year in Cambodia, the Asian
Elephant Conservation Fund, another
small-grant fund maintained by the
Service, supported two projects on
assessing the conservation status of
Cambodia’s Asian elephants and
developing local capacity to insure
their long-term survival. Historical
information suggests that Cambodia
once supported large elephant
populations, and preliminary surveys
suggest that some 500 to 1,000 elephants
may still exist in the wild. Thus
Cambodia likely contains the largest
single elephant population in Indochina.
The Ministry of the Environment and
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries share responsibility for
wildlife conservation in Cambodia. This
multilateral collaboration is among the
Asian Elephant Conservation Fund,
World Wide Fund for Nature, Wildlife
Conservation Society, and Fauna and
Flora International. Collaboration is
helping Cambodian authorities assess
elephant numbers, train Cambodian
biologists in elephant ecology and
monitoring, and develop a National
Elephant Management Plan and a
Khmer language text in elephant
ecology and monitoring.
Although the Service contributes to
the conservation of massive species
such as the elephant, it also supports
conservation of small, fragile species
such as the monarch butterfly. This
year, the Service supported training
workshops to strengthen the capacity
of communities to manage resources
within the Special Biosphere Reserve
of the Monarch Butterfly in central
Mexico. The program focused on soil
conservation, agro-forestry, and organic
gardening. Five communities adopted
sustainable agricultural practices as a
result of this project, with more than
40 families participating. In addition,
peasant promoters are being trained,
so as to reach a greater number of
communities and increase participation
in workshops.
Another important program providing
environmental education and public
outreach is taking place as a result of
collaboration between the Service’s
Wildlife Without Borders (Latin America
and the Caribbean program) and the
Society of Caribbean Ornithology.
Together, they launched an initiative to
collaborate with any interested island in
the preparation of individualized
booklets featuring the common birds of
each island. The goal was to produce
booklets such as “The Common Birds of
the Turks and Caicos,” and “The
Common Birds of Anguilla,” with
illustrations and text on well-known
island birds. The booklets are intended
to stimulate interest and serve as basic
primers on island birds rather than
definitive guides. Currently, 11 islands
are taking part in this educational effort.
The Service’s Wildlife Without Borders
(Latin America and the Caribbean
program) is also an active member of
the North American Bird Conservation
Initiative, which provides comprehensive
bird conservation throughout the
Western Hemisphere. The Service
joins other Federal agencies to establish
effective partnerships and resources.
It contributes to this vision by creating
training opportunities for biologists
in other nations throughout the
hemisphere. Training provides local
natural resources managers with the
tools to manage their respective
USFWS/J Rorabaugh
The Service
joins other
agencies and
nations in
conserving birds
in the Western
Hemisphere
through its
Wildlife Without
Borders
program.
Summer Tanager
12 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
protected areas. Such efforts are critical
to improving international monitoring
and assessment capabilities and
enhancing conservation of migratory
birds in other nations.
Conserving Habitat
Accomplishments in species conservation
are intertwined with and, in many cases,
dependent on the benefits associated
with habitat conservation. Because fish
and wildlife are mobile, habitat loss,
degradation, and fragmentation are key
factors affecting fish and wildlife
populations. In this subsection, the
Service highlights its work with its
partners to protect, restore and manage
priority habitats in sufficient quality and
quantity for the benefit of fish, wildlife
and plant species and the healthy
ecosystems upon which they depend for
survival.
The most visible habitat protection
system of the Service, the National
Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS),
provides a national network of lands and
waters that serves as a secure home for
fish and wildlife and plants. These
refuges provide a lifeline for millions of
migratory waterfowl; open spaces for
elk, pronghorn, and caribou; and wild
niches for the rare and endangered. The
National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS)
is also part of the Service’s land system
or habitat base. Together these key
systems contribute to the overall success
of ecosystem restoration.
Unique among Federal land
management entities, the NWRS is the
only land management system charged
to conserve, restore, and manage
habitats for the benefit of fish, wildlife,
and plants. The National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997
amended and built upon the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act 1966 providing an “Organic Act”
for the NWRS. As a first priority, the
Refuge Improvement Act requires
each refuge to be managed to fulfill
the NWRS mission as well as the
individual refuge purposes. The Refuge
Improvement Act also declares that
compatible wildlife-dependent
recreational uses are legitimate,
appropriate, and priority public uses
of the NWRS. There are six wildlife-dependent
uses — hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and photography,
and environmental education and
interpretation — that, when found to be
compatible, are to receive enhanced
consideration over all other general
public uses of the NWRS.
During FY 2000, the Service published
its final compatibility regulations and
policy, which describe the process for
determining whether proposed uses can
be considered compatible with refuge
purposes. This is one of the most
significant regulations and policy
delineations affecting management and
public use of the NWRS. Compatibility
determinations ensure that wildlife
USFWS/Hollingworth
Species
conservation
is intertwined
with and
dependent on
the benefits
associated
with habitat
conservation.
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Black-shouldered Kite
2000 Annual Report 13
conservation is the foremost
consideration in decisions on whether to
allow proposed uses of refuge resources.
Following the direction provided by the
Refuge Improvement Act, a variety of
refuge public use policies have been
revised, including chapters on general
guidance on priority wildlife-dependent
recreation, interpretation, environmental
education, photography, wildlife
observation, and hunting and fishing.
Additionally, Service policies on
concessions, wilderness management,
habitat management, and ecological
integrity have been revised.
To enhance the educational and
partnership goals of the NWRS, new
classroom opportunities were provided
at 15 units of the NWRS and new Refuge
Support Group programs to support
expanded community partnerships were
implemented. Funding support to hire an
additional seven volunteer coordinators
was provided at the Upper Mississippi
River NWFR, Desert NWR, Texas
Chenier Plain NWR Complex, Reelfoot
NWR Complex, Rhode Island NWR
Complex, Sand Lake NWR, and Arctic
NWR. A community Partnerships Grant
Program was established through a
cooperative effort with the National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation to provide
matching funds to community partners
supporting operations projects on units
of the NWRS. Support for current
education efforts in 14 refuges was
offered and a distance-learning event
was developed for elementary schools
nationwide via satellite computer
linkages.
In FY 2000, a major initiative to
commemorate the centennial of the
NWRS was officially adopted.
Legislation was introduced into the
House and Senate establishing a
Centennial Commission of distinguished
individuals to leverage with partners
to carry out the outreach campaign for
the NWRS and provide direction for
centennial events and programs
throughout refuges nationwide. This
proposed legislation, the “National
Wildlife Refuge System Centennial
Act of 2000,” also calls for a long-term
plan to address major operations,
maintenance and construction needs
of the NWRS.
On May 25, 2000, the Service published
its final refuge planning policy in the
Federal Register (65 FR 33892). The
new policy establishes requirements and
guidance for NWRS planning, including
Comprehensive Conservation Plans
(CCPs) and step-down management
plans. This policy incorporates the CCP
provisions of the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act,
as amended. Key points addressed
in the final policy include basing our
management decisions on sound
science, and elevating our commitment
to maintain and, where appropriate,
restore the biological integrity, diversity,
and environmental health of each refuge
and the NWRS.
The NFHS and its Fisheries Program
partners within the Service are integral
to achieving the goals of protecting or
recovering fish species and restoring
their habitat. There are no simple
solutions to address the protection
and conservation of aquatic species and
the ecosystems on which they depend.
Though specific threats to aquatic
species vary between species and
geographic regions, aquatic species
imperilment and habitat destruction
has a number of common causes. Among
these are intensive water resource use
associated with impoundments and
agriculture; channel modifications and
other activities altering hydrologic
regimes; pollution by chemical toxicants,
nutrient loading, sedimentation, thermal
discharges; loss and degradation of
in-stream habitat, loss or deleterious
modification of adjacent terrestrial
components of aquatic ecosystems; and,
the establishment of nuisance levels of
nonindigenous species. Restoration of
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Conservation
education is key
to community
partnerships.
The Community
Partnerships
Grant Program
is now available
through
cooperation
with the
National Fish
and Wildlife
Foundation.
Interpretive Display at Sand Lake NWR
14 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
degraded or altered habitat is usually
the core challenge to the conservation
and recovery of aquatic species.
The Service uses the expertise of
Fishery Resource and Fish and Wildlife
Management Assistance Offices to
successfully combat and provide
solutions to a variety of aquatic resource
problems on National Wildlife Refuges.
This partnership ensures a unified
approach in conserving aquatic
Also, the Alpena Fishery Resource
Office in collaboration with the staff of
the Ottawa NWR opened a fish passage
structure designed to allow lake use of a
newly restored marsh. This project
provides benefits to 41 fish species that
utilize the refuge.
The Gulf Coast Fishery Resource Office
has developed a plan to restore fish
passage in the Pearl River system of
Louisiana and Mississippi. Located on
the Bogue Chitto NWR, this restoration
plan will open 200 miles of habitat
within the Pearl River that has been
blocked by navigation projects. Striped
bass, paddlefish, hickory shad, and
gulf sturgeon will benefit from the
additional habitat.
The Lake Champlain Fishery Resource
Office located key nesting and over
wintering habitats of the Eastern spiny
softshell turtle on the Missisquoi NWR.
Biologists believe that there are less
than 200 turtles of this species remaining
in New England. This project is a
cooperative venture involving the
Service, the Government of Quebec,
and the State of ffermont.
Under mission goal 2, Conserving
Habitat Through a Network of Lands
and Waters, and strategic goal 2.1
entitled, “Habitat Conservation on
Service Lands,” the Service set a goal
this year to meet the identified habitat
needs of Service lands by ensuring
that 93,883,301 acres (total acreage
managed by FWS) are protected, of
which 3,270,333 acres will be restored
or enhanced. The Service met this
goal this year by increasing the number
of acres managed by the Service in
the NWRS to 93,962,546 acres, of
which 3,287,764 acres were restored
or enhanced.
Under this same strategic goal, the
Service set a goal to complete 80 percent
of contaminated cleanup projects on its
lands according to their original
schedule. Contaminant cleanup
significantly contributes to the Service
being able to provide quality habitat for
fish and wildlife resources. This goal was
met by completing 17 of the 21 scheduled
cleanup projects for this year.
The Service will continue to have the
NWRS and the NFHS serve as the
examples for ecosystem stability in areas
throughout the country and as critical
tools to ecosystem recovery. But the
Service recognizes that these systems
cannot do the job alone.
Restoration of
degraded or
altered habitat
is the core
challenge to…
USFWS Photo
environments for the continuing benefit
of the fishery resource, and recreational
and subsistence interests. In a broader
context, this cooperative management
effort benefits large numbers of aquatic
and terrestrial species that depend on
healthy aquatic ecosystems. The result
of this approach has been a greater
commitment to conservation through
the development and implementation
Fishery Management Plans under the
umbrella of the Refuge Comprehensive
Conservation Plan. For example, the
Mid-Columbia River Fishery Resource
Office in cooperation with the staff of
the Little Pend Orielle NWR, the
Forest Service, and the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife
assessed fish habitat availability and
monitored the presence and trends of
“at risk” anadromous and resident
species in tributary streams of the
Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow river
basins. Efforts were concentrated on
assessing spawning habitat for summer
chinook salmon and assessing habitat
and populations of the recently listed
bull trout. These efforts facilitate the
restoration of over 100 miles of
tributary habitat.
Bass
2000 Annual Report 15
The primary reason for species to be
listed under the ESA is the loss of
habitat. According to a 1993 study by the
Association for Biodiversity Information
and The Nature Conservancy, half of
listed threatened and endangered
species have at least 80 percent of their
habitat on private lands. The Service is
committed to encouraging private
landowners to manage their lands to
help stabilize ecosystems, which in turn
helps prevent species from declining to
the point where protection under the
ESA is necessary.
The Service continued to improve the
conservation of listed species by
expanding the incentives and regulatory
assurances provided to non-federal
landowners through Safe Harbor
agreements. For instance, in July, the
Service issued a Safe Harbor permit for
the red-cockaded woodpecker in Sussex
County, Vrginia that will involve multiple
landowners. This agreement joins the
existing 44 agreements that currently
cover more than 1.4 million acres.
Under Section 6 of the Endangered
Species Act, support from the
Cooperative Endangered Species Fund
is provided to States and territories for
species and habitat recovery actions on
non-federal lands. This assistance is
crucial because most listed species
depend on habitats located on State and
private lands. Section 6 grants assist
States and territories in building
partnerships. Grants also provide
funding for monitoring delisted species
and thus facilitate the transition of
authority from the Service to States
and territories.
Conservation Grants provide financial
assistance to States and territories to
implement conservation projects for
species at risk. States and territories
contribute 25 percent of the estimated
program cost of approved projects, or
10 percent when two or more States or
territories implement a joint project.
Grants reimburse the balance of the
estimated program costs. Requests for
financial assistance by States and
territories for these activities greatly
exceed available funds. In FY 2000, more
than $23 million was made available to
the States for endangered species
conservation. Grants have funded such
projects as The Florida Marine Turtle
Protection Program, Conservation of
Endangered Ozark Cave Species and
Ecosystems, and Lake Wales Ridge
Plants (Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services).
The Habitat Conservation Plan
Land Acquisition Program provides
monetary resources to acquire lands
that complement the goals but do not
replace the mitigation responsibilities
of approved Habitat Conservation Plans.
These acquisitions have important
benefits for listed, proposed and
candidate species and their ecosystems.
Because of their authorities and close
working relationships with local
governments and landowners, States
and territories use Habitat Conservation
Plan Land Acquisition Funds to acquire
such complementary lands. In FY 2000,
at least 12 localities, from California
to Wisconsin, benefited with over
$14.5 million to supplement habitat
conservation efforts throughout
the nation.
USFWS Photo
…the
conservation
and recovery
of aquatic
species.
The Service emphasizes providing
private landowners with the tools they
need to become full-fledged partners in
species conservation. Through the
Landowner Incentive Program,
Congress authorized funding to provide
long-sought financial assistance and
incentives to private property owners to
conserve listed, proposed and candidate
species, along with species that are likely
to become candidates in the near future.
The Endangered Species Landowner
Incentive Program has opened doors,
generated the trust of landowners
through technical assistance and
funding, and leveraged contributions
from partners or sources other than the
Service. The Landowner Incentive
Program is in its second year and has
generated high interest. The Service
reviewed 138 proposals totaling $15.1
million. Of these, thirty-five proposals,
from all Service Regions, were selected
Skate
16 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
for the $5 million in funding provided.
Projects include retrofitting fishing gear
to protect southern sea otters and short-tailed
albatross, fence construction to
exclude invasive species impacting
habitats for numerous Hawaiian species,
and restoration of grassland sites for the
Karner blue butterfly and other listed
prairie plants and insects.
Tallgrass prairie ecosystems and mixed-grass
prairie habitats are important to
the conservation of grassland and other
migratory birds, which is one of the
Partners in Flight Program’s highest
priorities. In FY 2000 the Service
initiated several multi-year studies
throughout the nation to address
population and habitat concerns for
these birds. In Minnesota, the Service, in
partnership with USGS, tested the
validity of a grassland bird conservation
models in the northern tallgrass prairie
ecosystem and some mixed-grass prairie
habitats. The focus is largely on
evaluating the reproduction rates and
limiting factors for grassland passerines,
including Sprague’s Pipit and Baird’s
Sparrow. Sprague’s Pipit populations
have steeply declined as grassland
habitat has been lost. On some National
Wildlife Refuges (J. Clark Salyer and
Lostwood, in North Dakota, and
Medicine Lake and Bowdoin in Montana)
work is underway on the reproductive
needs of a similar suite of species under
different management and
physiographic regimes.
In FY 2000, the Service continued to
encourage private and public landowners
to protect and restore habitat through
both Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Program and the Coastal Program. Both
Programs benefit threatened and
endangered species, migratory birds and
provide improved habitat or access for
anadromous and interjurisdictional fish
and other aquatic species. These
Programs effectively triple their
program capacity by leveraging funds
and resources from other partners.
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Program works specifically with private
landowners to provide them with the
knowledge and tools to improve the
condition of fish and wildlife habitat on
their land. The Coastal Program focuses
its efforts on restoring and protecting
coastal habitats on both private and
public lands. The Program is actively
involved in projects in 14 high priority
coastal watersheds that directly enhance
the livability of coastal communities.
Through the National Coastal Wetlands
Conservation Grants Program, the
Service provided resources to protect
and restore vital coastal habitats. In FY
2000, the Service funded 25 projects
giving 15 States and one territory
approximately $12 million in grants for
acquisition, restoration, management
and enhancement of 6,500 acres of
coastal wetlands. In Wisconsin, for
example, National Coastal Wetlands
Grant funds will help the Department of
Natural Resources acquire 150 acres of
high quality wetland habitat in Door
County. This project, conducted in
cooperation with The Nature
Conservancy, will provide foraging
habitat for the endangered Hine’s
emerald dragonfly, spawning habitat for
Great Lakes fish, and a vital link
between existing protected areas.
Landscape approaches to conservation,
whether at the individual or local site
level or across continents, are essential
to conserve important waterfowl habitat
and wetlands. Since the inception of the
North American Waterfowl Management
Plan in 1986, the Service worked with
regional, national and international
partners to protect and restore habitat
throughout the continent for waterfowl
and other wildlife that use wetlands. The
Joint ffenture partnerships associated
USFWS Photo
Grizzly Bear
2000 Annual Report 17
The Partners for Fish and
Wildlife Program
In 2000, the Partners for Fish and
Wildlife Program provided private
landowners with technical and financial
assistance to protect and restore
habitat on their property. In New York,
the Partners Program worked with
Ducks Unlimited and other partners to
restore a variety of habitats including
approximately 1,200 acres of wetlands,
1,000 acres of uplands, and 10 miles of
riparian and stream habitats. Many of
the projects benefit federally listed
species including the Indiana bat,
Karner blue butterfly, clubshell
mussel, and the bog turtle.
Another example of the Program’s
activities is the Sanibel Island marsh
restoration project in southern
Florida. With assistance from the
Partners Program, the Sanibel-Captiva
Conservation Foundation has
protected and restored over 325 acres
of marsh. Restoration activities
included water level management,
prescribed burns, judicious use of
herbicides, and mechanical removal of
the exotic plants. Selective mowing was
used to enhance native plant
succession and the wetlands were
enhanced to extend their use by fish
and amphibians and provide foraging
habitat for wading birds.
The Partners Program also focuses
some of its energies to educate
America’s youth. In Texas, the Service
organized a multi-agency effort to
construct an outdoor classroom in
Bowie, Texas. Working in cooperation
with the science teachers at the Bowie
Elementary School and many
partners, the Service created two small
wetland areas, removed undesirable
brush from an existing tall grass native
prairie area, and planted stands of
native grass for educational purposes.
Bluebird and other bird houses have
been constructed and disturbed areas
have been replanted with native grass
and wildflowers.
The Service’s Coastal Program
The Coastal Program also provides
financial and technical assistance on
both private and public lands to
restore coastal habitats. One example
is the Gulf of Maine’s efforts to
Habitat Restoration Programs Restore and Protect Habitats
implement protection and restoration
projects that directly benefit Atlantic
salmon and other anadromous fish.
The Program protected 339 acres and
over one mile of A tlantic salmon
rearing habitat. In addition, the
Program provided fish access to
historic spawning grounds by
providing funds and technical
assistance to remove five dams on the
Machias, Narraguagus and Pleasant
Rivers. After the dams were removed,
the Program assisted in bank
stabilization through the use of
geotextiles and native plantings. The
Gulf of Maine Program supplements
these on-the-ground projects with
Atlantic salmon research, mapping
and outreach activities.
USFWS/N Derey
In Michigan, the Great Lakes Coastal
Program, working with numerous
partners, initiated the Belle Isle
Restoration Project. Located in the
Detroit River, the project restored an
island wetland at Blue Heron Lagoon
and a unique lakeplain oak habitat.
On the coast of Maui, the Pacific
Islands Coastal Program is restoring
two rare coastal pool and lowland dry
forest habitats in the Ahihi-Kinau Area
Natural Reserve. Through a
combination of habitat fencing, native
plant establishment, and invasive plant
management, the Program is restoring
habitat for three endangered plant
species, an endangered moth, and
several other rare species.
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Poster
18 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
with the North American Waterfowl
Management Plan continue to be the
connection to delivering a host of diverse
habitat protection and restoration
projects, whereby well over 5 million
acres of essential and diverse habitat has
been protected for the future. Of all the
Joint ffentures that exist there are 11 for
habitat and 3 for species conservation.
In association with Joint ffentures,
there are new “all bird” conservation
initiatives are being launched in the
Northern Rockies, Shortgrass Prairie,
Northern Forest, and Southeast Atlantic
Coastal environments. North American
Joint ffentures are key partnerships
that implement the North American
Bird Conservation Initiative, an
unprecedented alignment of partners
within the conservation community and
society at large. The NABCI conserves
the Nation’s and the continent’s bird life
within a landscape context and is the
most ambitious and effective migratory
bird conservation coalition ever
assembled. Its principal thrust will be
to integrate all existing and developing
bird conservation plans with the North
American Waterfowl Management
Plan. Existing plans include the U.S.
Shorebird Plan, Northern American
Colonial Waterbird Plan and Partners
in Flight.
Another tool designed to protect
valuable migratory birds and other
wildlife habitat across the U.S., Mexico
and Canada is the North American
Conservation Act (NAWCA). In FY
2000, projects funded under NAWCA
standard grants protected or restored
nearly 374,000 acres in the U.S. with
the aid of more than $26 million in
grant funds and over $110 million in
partner funds. Through this partnership
program, more than 352,000 acres were
protected and enhanced in Canada, with
grant support exceeding $17 million and
partner funds reaching beyond $24
million. Mexican projects typically
include education and management
plans affecting large biosphere reserves,
and nearly 62,000 acres benefited. The
NAWCA small grants program affected
nearly 12,000 acres. Twenty-two projects
were funded with $1 million of grant
funds and over $12 million of partner
funds.
Protecting habitat for fish and wildlife
resources depends on our ability to
build strong relationships with our
government partners. Through the
Consultation Program, the Service
works with other Federal, State and
local agencies to ensure that activities
they undertake or authorize are
compatible with species’ needs. Each
year the Service conducts over 40,000
Federal project reviews and issues some
3,000 biological opinions. The Service
continues to use informal and
programmatic consultations to
streamline and expedite review and
identify potential problems during the
early stages of project planning. For
instance, in Wyoming, the Service and
the Bureau of Land Management joined
in more than 500 high priority
information consultations on livestock
grazing permit renewals and transfers
through a streamlined process featuring
a series of “screens” for potential
impacts to listed proposed and candidate
species. The cooperative process enabled
the Bureau of renew grazing permits
before they expired, thereby preventing
disruptions to ranchers’ livestock
grazing operations.
The Service is successfully working
with the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation to streamline
environmental project reviews and
provide protection of important fish
and wildlife resources affected by the
replacement of over 300 bridges in
Pennsylvania. The projects are funded
through a $1 billion dollar authorization
in the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA-21). To accelerate the
The North
American Bird
Conservation
Initiative will
integrate all bird
conservation
plans with the
North American
Waterfowl
Management
Plan.
USFWS/William Sontag
Canada Goose
2000 Annual Report 19
review process, PennDOT, through
an interagency memorandum of
understanding as provided for in TEA-
21, provided funding to the Service to
work exclusively on bridge replacement
projects. As a result, two endangered
mussels (northern riffle shell and the
club shell mussels) and other mussels
have been protected by relocating the
mussels or occasionally, by relocating the
bridges. A protocol is being developed to
protect the Indiana bat, which is
particularly vulnerable to impacts at
bridge replacement projects. These
cooperative efforts have reduced time
delays in implementing bridge
replacements and mitigation
requirements.
The Service worked cooperatively with
the private dam owner and State,
Federal and Tribal officials on the
removal of the Goldsborough dam in
Washington State. The Goldsborough
dam will be one of the first dams in the
northwest to be removed to help restore
traditional salmon runs. The
Goldsborough dam, which is 100 feet
wide and 14 feet high, no longer serves
its purpose for hydroelectric production
or water diversion and blocks fish
species access to their spawning habitat,
bars the return of juvenile salmon and
erodes the creek bed making it
impassable to fish. The removal of the
dam will provide access for chum, coho,
cutthroat trout, steelhead and
endangered chinook salmon to spawn in
most of Goldsborough Creek for the first
time in 115 years. Fish that currently
spawn below the dam are expected to
move farther upstream when the dam is
removed. The decision to remove the
dam will restore 2,000 feet of streambed
and expand opportunities for
recreational fishing.
Linking Wildlife and People
The nation’s ability to sustain
ecosystems, and the natural heritage of
fish, wildlife and plant resources within
them, will increasingly depend on the
public’s active participation in the
stewardship of these valuable resources.
A growing number of the public lack
first-hand experience with fish and
wildlife resources in their natural
setting. Thus, the Service provides
environmental education to help the
public understand how their well being is
linked to the well being of fish, wildlife
and plant resources. This environmental
information must be made accessible to
the public in order to foster their
responsible stewardship of these
valuable resources. Also, private citizens,
whose voluntary participation in fish and
wildlife conservation, have laid a
foundation on which the Service operates
today and have contributed to the
continuing conservation of fish and
wildlife resources throughout the world.
An important planning and conservation
tool made available to our public and
private partners is the ability to locate
existing wetlands and other habitat
significant to the conservation of fish and
wildlife resources. A significant role of
the Service’s National Wetlands
Inventory is to provide the public with
wetlands data that can be used by
decision makers to support conservation
of wetlands and other aquatic habitats.
The NWI has made digital wetlands data
available to our public and private
partners for one million square miles of
the surface of the conterminous U.S. and
made this data viewable over the
Internet. The digital wetlands data also
makes it possible to continuously update
wetland maps in areas experiencing
rapid change. The mapper is a web-based
system that allows anyone with an
Internet connection to view available
digital wetlands data and print custom
color maps and acreage reports on
desktop printers. There is a link to the
Microsoft Terraserver, which allows the
user to view an aerial photograph or a
map produced by the U.S. Geological
Survey for the area displayed. In the
first 11 months of operation, the mapper
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Protecting
habitat for fish
and wildlife
resources
depends on
our ability to
build strong
relationships
with our partners
to ensure that
authorized
actions are
compatible with
species needs.
Red-winged Blackbird
20 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
has allowed Internet users to produce
253,661 custom wetland maps. The
mapping program is reaching a broad
audience in large numbers, with 84
percent of the users located outside of
government service. The wetlands
mapper contributes significantly to the
goal of providing the public with
important natural resource information
so that they may become sound
stewards. The mapper is available on the
NWI web site at http://wetlands.fws.gov.
The Service enters into partnerships
agreements with a wide variety of the
public, as individuals and as
organizations, at the national, regional,
and local levels to benefit the NWRS
and the Nation’s wildlife resources.
Partnerships bring additional skills and
expertise into refuge operations. An
important contribution to community
partnerships was made by Congress
this fiscal year with the passage of
the National Wildlife Refuge System
ffolunteer and Community Partnership
Enhancement Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-242)
on October 5, 1998. The Act brings
recognition and additional authorities
to the Service’s volunteer program,
including authority to establish a Senior
ffolunteer Program, and added support
for community partnerships and
education programs.
The resources and expertise made
available to the Service through
partnerships is wide ranging. Notable
partners include the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, the National
Wildlife Refuge Association, the
National Audubon Society, the
Cooperative Alliance for Refuge
Enhancement (CARE), Safari Club
International, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., the
Outdoor Writers Association, the
Student Conservation Association, the
American Association of Retired Persons
(AARP), and numerous grassroots
partners commonly known as Refuge
Support (Friends) Groups.
CARE consists of a coalition of
sportsmen’s and environmental groups
seeking to raise awareness of the impacts
of insufficient operating funds and the
ensuing threat to wildlife conservation
and visitor services on national wildlife
refuges. This unique support group
includes organizations as diverse as The
Wilderness Society and the National Rifle
Association, and has become an influential
voice for the NWRS.
New community-based “Refuge Support
Groups” are being developed on a
continuing basis nationwide. Groups
consist of local citizens who have
established community partnerships that
support the mission of their hometown
national wildlife refuge. Because group
memberships are derived from private
citizens in communities across the
nation, the NWRS is supported by a
growing constituency, which reflects a
rich diversity of wildlife conservation
interests. This wealth of ideas, skills,
talents, and expertise being woven into
friends groups will both strengthen and
enrich the NWRS.
The National Audubon Society continues
its support through local support groups,
called Audubon Refuge Keepers (ARK),
which are involved in all aspects of
refuge enhancement, from habitat
restoration to environmental education.
More than 75 ARK groups have been
established to assist local refuges. The
ARK program is an integral part of
Audubon’s Wildlife Refuge Campaign,
which works to build a broader
nationwide understanding and
appreciation for the NWRS.
Cooperating Associations are nonprofit
partner corporations, which receive
authorization through the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act of 1966 and the Refuge Recreation
Act of 1962, as amended. Cooperating
Associations work with the Service to
create, produce and sell educational
publications, maps, visual aids, and
natural resource related articles, and
services. These interpretive and
educational materials and services
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
Notable partners
are joining the
Service in
raising an
awareness of
the impacts of
insufficient
resources on…
Hunting
2000 Annual Report 21
enhance visitor understanding of the
natural, cultural, and recreational
resources of the area as well as the
mission of the Service. Sales from
bookstores, managed and operated by
Cooperating Associations, help fund
many of the Service’s interpretive,
educational, recreational and biological
initiatives.
The National Fish Hatcheries provide a
tremendous variety of outreach
programs that promote environmental
awareness and involve the public in
aquatic resource stewardship and fishery
management. Visitors are attracted by
the opportunities that National Fish
Hatcheries provide in aquatic education,
including outdoor laboratories and
education centers. Also, the Service
produces and disseminates newsletters
and boaters’ guides to teachers and
students so they can directly participate
in aquatic resource conservation. The
ages of the students span almost 20
years, beginning with pre-school
children from daycare centers and
ending with graduate students from
major colleges and universities.
Service Fisheries facilities are linked to
many secondary schools, colleges and
universities through formal cooperative
programs under which undergraduate
and graduate students conduct research
or work part-time. Under an education
program begun in 1994, many of our
National Fish Hatcheries initiated
cooperative programs with schools to
provide instruction in fish biology,
aquaculture, fishing, and ecosystem
stewardship. Curricula developed
include laboratory analysis of fish
specimens, principles of applied fisheries
management, and hatchery production
techniques.
Service Hatcheries also host a variety of
special events. For example, fishing
derbies and special social gatherings are
offered, where visitors have opportunities
to learn about aquatic resources and to
participate in programs designed to
strengthen public awareness of the
importance of caring for fishery resources.
The Fisheries Program actively supports
national Fishing Week, an annual activity
designed for outreach purposes.
Fishing clinics, display aquariums,
demonstrations, and environmental
education sessions are highlights of this
event. These events not only expose
children and adults to the joys of
recreational fishing, but also illustrate
the importance of a quality environment
necessary to provide these opportunities.
Fisheries outreach often targets boaters
and anglers. Aquatic nuisance species
(ANS) can have a devastating impact on
native ecosystems. The Serviced attends
State and national boating and sport
fishing shows to educate boaters about
the importance of cleaning their boats
before they are transferred from one
body of water to another. One of the
major pathways for the spread of ANS is
through the transfer of boats and related
equipment from infested to uninfested
waters. Also, the Service uses these
opportunities to educate about lead
sinkers and to encourage them not to use
lead sinkers, because, if ingested, lead
sinkers cause mortalities in waterfowl.
Hatcheries also provide wonderful
opportunities for adults and children to
commune with nature. Hundreds of
thousands of visitors, especially parents
and grandparents who want their
youngsters to better appreciate fish and
fishing, come simply to see fish firsthand.
To encourage these experiences, many
Service hatcheries have aquaria, special
windows and stations where visitors can
see several kinds of fishes, and various
displays that explain the importance of
being good stewards of our Nation’s
aquatic resources.
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
…conservation
and on the ability
of visitors to
enjoy fish and
wildlife.
Fishing
The Adopt-A-Salmon Family is an
extremely effective outreach program
involving thousands of students annually.
As part of this program, students assist
with raising and releasing salmon fry
into local rivers and learn about human
impacts on watersheds. The students
develop a watershed stewardship ethic
and an appreciation for the complexities
of anadromous fish restoration.
22 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Facility condition plays an important
role in providing the public access to
the valuable fish, wildlife and plant
resources protected within the NWRS
and the NFHS and proper maintenance
of Service facilities is a major concern of
the Service. Refuge water management
facilities, fish hatcheries, visitor centers,
buildings, roads, dikes, dams, bridges,
and other facilities represent a major
investment by the American people in
resources that support the mission of
the Service.
The deferred maintenance estimate
for facilities in the NWRS is
approximately $623 million, plus or
minus 15 percent, placing the estimate
within a range of approximately $530
million to $716 million. The deferred
maintenance estimate for facilities
within the NFHS is approximately
$280 million, plus or minus 15 percent,
placing the estimate within a range of
approximately $238 million to $322
million. Based on condition assessment
survey of maintenance needs of Service
facilities, the estimates that deferred
maintenance for aggregate facilities
within both systems is estimated at
approximately $903 million, plus or
minus 15 percent, placing the range
between approximately $768 million
and $1 billion for all facilities under the
jurisdiction of the Service. The Service
recognizes that estimating deferred
maintenance requires the professional
judgment of numerous site managers
gathering information from multiple
sources. These estimates can represent
average costs among several sources or
can be the costs of the last estimate
increased over time to accommodate
inflation since the last estimate. Each
method is acceptable; however,
estimates may vary by 15 percent
above or below any discrete number
provided.
The Service’s estimates of deferred
maintenance are aggregate estimates
for all facilities and for all property
related to facility operations. The
aggregate estimates do not include
construction of facilities not previously
existing, or significant expansion of
existing facilities, or major upgrades of
structures, but rather are estimates of
bringing existing facilities into a
functional or acceptable operating
condition. Maintenance of a minor,
custodial nature, including grass mowing,
snow removal, grounds maintenance,
routine equipment servicing (excluding
preventive maintenance), and janitorial
services are not included in the Service’s
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Bike Trail visit at San Francisco Bay NWR
Under mission goal three, linking
wildlife and people through fostering
public use and enjoyment of fish and
wildlife resources, and strategic goal 3.1
entitled, “Public Use and Enjoyment,”
the Service set a goal to increase
interpretive, educational and
recreational visits to units of the NWRS
and the NFHS. For FY 2000, the Service
worked to increase visits by 2 percent
over that achieved in FY 1999, setting
the goal at approximately 37.5 million
visits. The Service exceeded this goal
with the number of visits recorded at
approximately 38 million.
2000 Annual Report 23
estimate. Equipment replacement is also
excluded from this estimate.
A standard measure of condition for
facilities is a ratio of the estimates of
deferred maintenance needs to the
replacement value of such facilities,
known as the Facilities Condition Index
(FCI), which is a commonly used
industry measure of condition.
Estimates of deferred maintenance
needs represent those field station
maintenance needs that have not been
funded for at least one year. The
replacement value is the estimate for
replacing these facilities at today’s costs.
The FCI illustrates the percentage of its
capital amount that an institution would
have to spend to eliminate the deferred
maintenance. If the ratio of accumulated
deferred maintenance estimate to
replacement value is from 0 percent to 5
percent, the condition of the facilities is
considered as “good.” If the ratio is
greater than 5 percent but less than 10
percent, the condition is considered as
“fair” and if the ratio is 10 percent or
greater, then condition is considered
“poor.” The replacement value for
facilities within the NWRS is estimated
at $5.4 billion and for the NFHS at $889
USFWS/Hollingworth
The Service
exceeded its
goal to increase
interpretive,
educational and
recreational
visits to refuges.
million, with a combined total of almost
$6.3 billion. Based on condition
assessment surveys conducted by the
Service, the FCI for facilities within the
NWRS is estimated at approximately
12.2 percent and for the NFHS at
approximately 31 percent, with a
combined FCI for all Service facilities
estimated at approximately 15 percent.
Therefore, the overall condition of
Service facilities is “poor.”
The Service has a proud tradition of
working with its partners throughout the
Nation and the world to effect solutions
that benefit fish and wildlife resources
and the habitat upon which they depend
for survival. During FY 2000, as with
every other year before, the Service has
enjoyed the increasing support of the
Congress, the President, and the
American public so that we can all work
to benefit our natural heritage and the
world’s fish and wildlife resources. We
look forward to continuing to build new
and nurture existing cooperative
programs so that fish and wildlife
management remains a useful and
productive tool in conserving our valued
fish and wildlife resources for future
generations.
Volunteer at Chincoteague NWR
24 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USFWS/L. David Mech
2000 Annual Report 25
By law and treaty, the Service has
national and international management
and law enforcement responsibilities for
migratory birds, threatened and
endangered species, fisheries and many
marine mammals. Also, the Service
assists State and Tribal governments
and other Federal agencies in protecting
America’s fish and wildlife resources.
Further, the Service manages over 93
million acres in the National Wildlife
Refuge System (NWRS) and the
National Fish Hatchery System
(NFHS). These lands and the fish and
wildlife resources they support are
valued for their environmental and
cultural resources, for their educational
and scientific benefits, for their
recreational and scenic values, and for
the revenue they provide to the Federal
Government, States, and Counties.
Stewardship Lands
Stewardship Lands and Facilities and
Their Locations
The Service manages land in all 50
States, some of the Pacific Islands, the
U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto
Rico. Over 80 percent of the acreage of
the Service’s land holdings are in Alaska.
Lands within the NWRS include 530
refuge units, over 200 Waterfowl
Production Areas, and 50 Coordination
Areas. Lands and facilities within the
NFHS are comprised of 67 National
Fish Hatcheries (including a Historic
National Fish Hatchery), 7 Fish
Technology Centers, 9 Fish Health
Centers, located within 34 States.
Figure 1 displays the acres owned by
the Service for all its land uses. These
lands are acquired through a variety of
methods such as withdrawal from the
public domain, fee title purchase,
transfer of jurisdiction, donation, gift,
exchange, and partial interest through
agreements, easements, and leases.
Figure 2 shows the percentage of
stewardship lands acquired through
these different methods. Lands are
purchased through two primary sources
of funding, the Migratory Bird
Conservation Fund and the Land and
Water Conservation Fund.
Uses of Stewardship Lands
Lands managed within the NWRS are
used to conserve and manage fish, wildlife
and plant resources for the benefit of
present and future generations. The
habitat protected is as diverse as the wild
things living there. Service stewardship
lands protect tundra, grasslands, deserts,
forests, rivers, marshes, swamps, and
remote islands — virtually every type of
habitat and landscape found in the
United States. The fish, wildlife and
plants that live on refuges are the
heritage of a wild America that was, and
is. The Service watches over 700 species
of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250
reptile and amphibian species, more than
1,000 species of fish, and countless
species of invertebrates and plants. They
come as flocks, herds, coveys, gaggles,
schools, pairs and loners. Nearly 260
threatened and endangered species are
found on Service lands, and it is on
refuges and on hatcheries that they
often begin their recovery and hold their
own against extinction. The Service
protects, restores, and manages this fish,
wildlife, plant, land, and water heritage.
We count it, study it, band it, mark it,
and reintroduce it and we let wildlife
come naturally by managing its home
and its habitat. On many refuges the
Service must restore what was ditched,
drained and cleared and actively manage
wetlands, grasslands, forests, and to a
lesser extent, croplands to provide the
variety of habitat needed by diverse fish
and wildlife species. Control of invasive
and exotic pest plants and animals is
essential in order to retain or restore
native fish, wildlife, and plants. Over
three million acres of NWRS lands are
restored and enhanced each year. While
the needs of fish and wildlife must come
first, refuges welcome those who want to
enjoy the natural world, to observe or
photograph wildlife, to hunt or to fish, or
to study and learn about wildlife and
their needs.
Stewardship of the Nation’s fishery and
aquatic resources, through the NFHS,
has been a core responsibility of the
Service for over 120 years. Although the
Stewardship
Stewardship Assets
26 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Figure 1
Annual Stewardship Information For The Years Ended September 30, 2000 and 1999
(Acres In Thousands)
2000 1999
Sites Acres Sites Acres
National Wildlife Refuge System:
National Wildlife Refuges 530 87,790 521 87,627
Coordination Areas 50 197 50 197
Waterfowl Production Areas 201 725 200 715
Total NWRS 781 88,712 771 88,539
Total NFHS 83 12 83 16
Total FWS Lands 864 88,724 854 88,555
Figure 2
Federal Transfers (1.00%)
Non-Federal Donations (2.00%)
FWS Purchased (5.00%)
Withdrawn from
Public Domain (92.00%)
2000 Annual Report 27
America’s
National Wildlife
Refuges…
USFWS/David Vogel
Service does not own all the lands and
facilities in the NFHS, the Service
participates in managing units within the
NFHS, which is comprised of National
Fish Hatcheries, Fish Health Centers,
and Fish Technology Centers. Many of
our hatcheries serve as outdoor
laboratories for school groups,
environmental organizations, and
universities. Visitor Centers on many
hatcheries provide public education
opportunities for the approximately three
million visitors each year. Fish Health
Centers focus on cooperative work
conducted by Federal, State and Tribal
fishery managers to identify and control
fish pathogens and diseases, particularly
in wild stocks. Fish Technology Centers
emphasize scientific management of fish
stocks and aquatic communities by
improving technologies in fish
propagation, broodstock management,
stock assessment, and aquaculture.
NFHS lands also provide refugia,
technology development and captive
propagation for over 30 species of
threatened and endangered plants and
animals, from Texas wild rice to Wyoming
toads to Ozark cavefish. In addition to
conservation, restoration, and
management of fish and wildlife resources
and their habitats, the NFHS provides
recreational opportunities to the public,
such as fishing, hiking, and bird watching.
All programs contributing to
stewardship actions on Service lands
are tied to supporting the Service’s
mission — ‘working with others to
conserve, protect and enhance fish,
wildlife, and plants and their habitats for
the continuing benefit of the American
people.’ The Service also recognizes the
role that our Federal, State, Tribal, and
private partners play in building on the
successes realized by the Service in
conserving stewardship resources.
Revenue from Stewardship Assets
The Recreation Fee Demonstration
Program continues to be a highly
successful endeavor for the participating
units of the NWRS. Several new sites
were added in FY 2000, including Big
Oaks National Wildlife Refuge in
Indiana, one of our newest refuges. The
participating sites collected over $3
million, with at least 80 percent of that
returning to the refuges that collected it.
Refuges use these funds to enhance
visitor experiences and improve visitor
services through restoring and
maintaining trails, developing
interpretive programs, improving signs,
and creating accessible wildlife
observation platforms.
Also, the Service makes payments to
counties in which Service lands and
holdings are located. Funding for these
payments is derived from a combination
of annual appropriations and revenues
generated through the sale of products
from Service lands incidental to habitat
management, such as timber and oil and
gas receipts. Payments to counties in FY
2000 totaled over $16.4 million, which is
approximately 58 percent of full
entitlement.
The Service’s Federal Aid in Sport Fish
Restoration and the Federal Aid in
Wildlife Restoration Programs are the
mainstays of State fish and wildlife
resource management efforts. Excise
taxes, collected from manufacturers of
equipment used in hunting and fishing,
sport shooting on ranges, and on
motorboat fuels, are deposited into a
trust fund and Treasury account for
investment and then, after appropriate
deductions, are apportioned to each
State. In FY 2000 apportionments of
Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration
funding for the States totaled
$434,106,544. The last 5-year average
apportionment to the States is over $176
million for wildlife and more than $239
million for sport fish restoration. Also in
FY 2000, $6 million was made available
for the National Outreach and
Communications Program authorized
by the Transportation Equity Act for
the 21st Century enacted in 1998. This
law provides the 30 million anglers and
78 million boaters of America with
additional resources through FY 2003
for sport fisheries management and
USFWS/William Hartgrove
USFWS/Mark Ranzon USFWS/Tom Smylie
where wildlife
comes naturally!
28 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
restoration. This is not a gift from
Congress, but rather is the model “user-pays,
user-benefits” program. Users
contribute through revenues collected
from motorboat and small engine fuels
taxes and excise taxes on fishing tackle,
electric trolling motors, flasher-type
sonar fish finders, and import duties on
fishing tackle and pleasure boats.
Net Change in Stewardship Land
Acreage from 1999 to 2000
The Service acquired fee title or other
interests in nearly 325,710 acres of
stewardship lands. These lands provide
permanent protection for valuable
wetland, riparian, coastal and upland
habitat for fish, wildlife and plant
species, including threatened and
endangered species.
The Service increased the number of
units to the National Wildlife Refuge
System in FY 2000 from 521 in FY 1999
to 530 in FY 2000. Six new refuges were
established — the Big Oaks NWR in
Indiana, Cat Island NWR in Louisiana,
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes NWR in
California, North Dakota Wildlife
Management Area in North Dakota, the
Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR in
Minnesota, and the John W. and Louise
Seier NWR in Nebraska. In addition, the
individual satellite units that were
previously known as the Mark Twain
NWR became four individual refuges in
FY 2000 (the Port Louisa NWR in Iowa
and Illinois; and the Great River NWR,
the Two Rivers NWR and the Middle
Mississippi River NWR all located in
Missouri and Illinois).
The Big Oaks Oaks NWR was
established on the site of the
Department of the Army’s former
Jefferson Proving Ground near Madison,
Indiana. The Service will operate the
refuge through a 25-year real estate
permit with the Army retaining
ownership of the land. The Big Oaks
NWR provides habitat for 120 species of
breeding birds, the Federally
endangered Indiana bat and 41 species
of fish. It is also home to white-tailed
deer, wild turkey, river otters and
coyotes. The Indiana Department of
Natural Resources has identified 46 rare
species of plants on the site.
The new Cat Island NWR in the West
Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, was
established with the acquisition of a 632-
acre tract from the Louisiana Nature
Conservancy. This refuge is unique in
that it has the national champion bald
cypress tree located within the boundary
and is along an unlevied portion of the
Mississippi River.
The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes NWR
was established with a donation from
The Nature Conservancy. TNC
purchased it with grant money from the
California Coastal Conservancy to
protect a rare, and relatively intact
ecosystem. More than 200 species of
Stewardship of
the Nation’s fish
and wildlife
resources has
been a core
responsibility of
the Service for
over 120 years.
USFWS Photo
Bald Eagle and FWS Refuge Employee
2000 Annual Report 29
migratory and resident birds use the
refuge and surrounding areas and over a
million whimbrels are found in the area.
Other species include the coast garter
snake, Western fence lizard and Pacific
western big-eared bat. The Western
snowy plover, California least tern and
southern sea otter are among other
federally listed endangered and
threatened species that use the refuge.
A new wildlife management area, the
North Dakota WMA, was established to
restore and protect critical tallgrass
prairie habitat in eastern North Dakota,
primarily through the purchase of
easements from willing sellers. Native
tallgrass prairie is one of the most
endangered and fragmented forms of
wildlife habitat in North America.
Ninety-nine percent of the original
prairie is gone from this Region.
The Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR
was established to preserve and restore
the northern tallgrass prairie and
associated habitat throughout various
locations in western Minnesota and
northwestern Iowa. These lands are the
only remaining cover available to
grassland-dependent wildlife in a
predominantly agricultural area. Eleven
species of wildlife and plants found in the
project area are federally listed under
the Endangered Species Act.
The John W. and Louise Seier NWR was
established in Rock County, Nebraska,
through a donation by the Johnnie Seier,
Inc. Trust. The refuge is made up of
predominately upland sandhill prairie,
and temporary and seasonal wetlands.
It provides important habitat for all
sandhill species of resident wildlife, as
well as nesting habitat and migration
resting sites for waterfowl, neotropical
birds, shorebirds and wading birds.
Through these new additions to the
NWRS, the Service is committed to the
preservation of biodiversity and the
management of resources on an
ecosystem basis. Land acquisition and
balancing of NWRS and the NFHS
resources are important tools used by
the Service for attaining these goals.
Condition of Stewardship Lands
The Service has stewardship
responsibilities for the lands and
associated heritage assets under its
jurisdiction, which are intertwined with
the condition of the fish, wildlife and
plant resources that depend on Service
stewardship assets for their well-being
and, in some cases, their survival.
Service resources are managed or
maintained in a state or condition so that
fish and wildlife resources are conserved
and protected for the continuing benefit
of Americans and in a manner consistent
with the requirements of conservation
designations.
Stewardship lands managed by the
Service include refuges, fish hatcheries,
wilderness areas, National Natural
Landmarks, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and
other special designations and are used
and managed in accordance with the
explicit purposes of the statutes
authorizing their acquisition or
USFWS Photo
The fish, wildlife
and plants that
live on refuges
are the heritage
of a wild America
that was, and is.
Red-tailed Hawk, Bosque Del Apache NWR
30 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
designation and directing their use and
management. Lands placed in the land
conservation systems managed by the
Service are protected into perpetuity as
long as they remain in the NWRS and
the NFHS. As new acquisitions enter
these conservation systems, lands are
managed to maintain their natural state,
to mitigate adverse effects of actions
previously conducted by others, or to
enhance existing conditions to improve
benefits to fish and wildlife resources.
The Service safeguards the stewardship
values of the lands it administers
through management actions taken on
individual refuges and hatcheries;
however, such actions are taken in
consideration of the needs and purposes
of entire conservation systems, the
NWRS and the NFHS. The NWRS and
the NFHS are conservation systems that
provide integrated habitat and life
support for both permanent resident
populations and for migratory
populations needing temporary stopover
sites to rest, breed, feed, and to survive
nationwide and, in some cases,
worldwide seasonal migrations. While
some individual units of stewardship
lands can be improved at any time
during their management cycles, the
condition of the stewardship assets as a
whole, protected by inclusion in both the
NWRS and the NFHS, is sufficient to
support the mission of the Service and
the statutory purposes for which these
conservation systems were authorized.
The Service assesses the condition of its
stewardship lands and resources
through monitoring habitat
characteristics and determining whether
management actions are needed to
change those characteristics to benefit
their usefulness to fish and wildlife
resources. For example, the Service
monitors habitat condition through
assessment studies to determine habitat
quality. Based on such studies, the
Service may determine that specific
management and protection actions are
necessary. For example, sites may be
restored to improve habitat for identified
species or moist soils and wetlands may
be managed to improve habitat
productivity. New or different integrated
pest management practices may be used
to benefit stressed refuge resources or
law enforcement actions may be
increased to prevent potential or
discovered illegal use of refuge
resources. A wide variety of techniques,
such as grazing, haying, prescribed
burning, and farming, necessary to meet
local and System resource management
goals, may be used by the Service to
promote the habitat characteristics
necessary to benefit fish and wildlife
resources throughout the NWRS and to
meet the conservation goals of the
Service. Thus, condition of stewardship
lands managed by the Service is not in a
static state. Land or habitat condition
may be changing, either through the
imposition of management techniques or
through natural stressors or processes
acting on those lands. It is the goal of the
Service to provide habitat that optimizes
the usefulness of stewardship lands to
benefit fish and wildlife resources.
Heritage Assets
Some of the Service’s stewardship lands
fall into the category of heritage assets.
Heritage assets are those lands,
buildings and structures, and associated
resources recognized for their ecological,
cultural, historical and scientific
importance. Heritage assets also include
cultural resources, such as
archaeological resources and historic
properties, and museum collections
derived from lands and facilities
managed by the Service.
Heritage assets include those lands
managed by the Service that carry
overlay or special designations
authorized by Congress, the President,
the Secretary of the Interior or by
conventions of national or international
stature. Thus, heritage assets also
include Wilderness Areas, Wild and
Scenic Rivers, National Natural
USFWS Photo
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Service lands
are conservation
systems that
provide
integrated
habitat and
life support for
both resident
and migratory
populations…
Northern Cardinal
Bighorn Sheep
2000 Annual Report 31
Landmarks, and Wetlands of
International Importance. Such lands
managed by the Service protect valuable
natural and cultural resources in every
State and a number of U.S. territories
and possessions. The protection of these
lands benefits not only the Nation’s fish
and wildlife populations, but helps
preserve important elements of our past
and cultural diversity. The condition of
all lands managed by the Service,
including those lands represented by
special designations of national or
international importance, are discussed
in previous paragraphs as well as in this
section. Special designations are
managed or maintained in a manner that
preserves the values that originally
qualified these assets for their special
designations. The status and condition of
cultural resources, museum collections,
and facilities defined as heritage assets
are discussed below.
Condition of Heritage Asset Facilities
Heritage assets are defined as property,
plant and equipment of historical,
natural, cultural, educational, or artistic
significance. The Service defines those
sites and facilities under its
administration that have nationally
recognized historical or cultural
designations as heritage assets. Please
refer to the Program Highlights section
of this report for details on the deferred
maintenance needs of all facilities
managed by the Service. From this
information, the Service concludes that
the infrastructure that supports the
mission work of the Service is suffering
from accelerated deterioration. The
overall condition of facilities managed by
the Service, which includes heritage
assets, is found to be in poor condition
and in need of repair.
Cultural Resources
Lands managed by the Service are
particularly important for protecting
significant sites associated with the
Nation’s prehistory and history. By
closely examining their geographic
distribution, an obvious pattern unfolds.
Service lands are located along major
river corridors, coastal areas, or in
association with wetlands and North
America’s migratory bird flyways.
Humans have used these same areas for
thousands of years for transportation,
settlement, and subsistence.
Archaeological and historic sites located
on these lands contribute important
information on changes to habitat and
wildlife over time and offer fish and
wildlife conservation partnership
opportunities with local communities
and tribes.
As of FY 2000, the Service documented
over 11,000 archaeological and historic
sites on a small percentage of its lands
and estimates that it is responsible for
tens of thousands of additional sites yet
to be identified. Cultural properties
range in age and type from the Sod
House historic ranch on the Malheur
NWR, Oregon to early 20th Century
military fortifications in the Fort Dade
on Egmont Key NWR, Florida to a
10,000 year old archaeological site on a
refuge in Tennessee, to a segment of the
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
on the Charles M. Russell NWR,
Montana, to the Victorian-era historic
buildings on the D.C. Booth Historic
Fish Hatchery in South Dakota. Cultural
properties managed by the Service
reflect our Nation’s rich heritage and
diversity.
Of the total number of known cultural
resources, an estimated 81 sites or
districts have been listed in the National
Register of Historic Places. The Service
also manages 9 National Historic
Landmarks designated by the Secretary
of the Interior to protect and recognize
sites of exceptional importance.
Each Service Regional Office for the
field stations under its jurisdiction
maintains inventories and records of
archaeological and historic sites.
Service-wide information on the number
and status of archaeological properties is
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
…needing
temporary
stopover sites to
rest, breed, feed,
and survive.
Tundra Swan
White-tailed Deer
32 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
summarized each year for the Secretary
of the Interior=s report to Congress
required by the Archaeological
Resources Protection Act.
The physical condition of cultural
resources managed by the Service varies
tremendously, depending on location,
maintenance, use, and type of resource.
While no comprehensive assessment is
available, the Service is developing
guidance and criteria to begin collecting
information. The Service estimates that
a minimum of 10 years is required to
assess the condition of identified cultural
resources under its jurisdiction.
Museum Collections
Service museum collections consist of
approximately 2.8 million objects
maintained in 150 offices or on loan to
over 200 non-Federal repositories for
study and long-term care. Collections
consist of archaeological materials
excavated from Service managed
cultural resources; paleontological
collections; objects and documents
associated with the agency’s history;
wildlife art; and, wildlife, fisheries, and
botanical specimens. Service collections
are used for educational and interpretive
programs, research on changes to
habitat and wildlife, and maintaining the
history and traditions of the Service’s
programs and employees.
In FY 2000, the Service helped sponsor a
field school operated by the Museum of
the Rockies and the University of
California-Berkeley to survey and
excavate dinosaur fossils from the Hell
Creek Formation on the Charles M.
Russell National Wildlife Refuge,
Montana. The session was part of a five-year
program to survey the refuge’s
world-renowned fossil beds to identify
the remains of mammals, invertebrates,
dinosaurs and plants. During the field
session, a duckbill dinosaur and
triceratops were excavated and a new T-Rex
skeleton was discovered that will be
excavated in 2001. A Discovery Channel
film crew was on hand during the
excavations to collect footage for a
possible television special. Collections
from the excavations will be stored at the
Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman for
study and possible future display.
The Service maintains a collection of
artwork at the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia under a long-term
loan agreement. The collection
consists of 487 pieces of artwork created
by notable painters such as Louis
Agassiz Fuertes, Ernest Thompson
Seton, and Jay Norwood (Ding) Darling.
The artists were commissioned by the
Bureau of Biological Survey, a
predecessor to the Service, during the
late 19th and early 20th centuries to
depict various wildlife species and
landscapes for use in government
publications. Under the agreement, the
Academy maintains the collection in a
climate controlled and secures storage
area to prevent deterioration and loss.
USFWS/Elise Smith
USFWS/Ashton Graham
The Service’s
goal is to provide
habitat that
optimizes the…
Striper
2000 Annual Report 33
The Service continues to accession new
museum collections each year, primarily
as a result of the scientifically controlled
excavation of archaeological sites on its
lands. The overall condition of Service
museum collections is adequate to good.
Over 82 percent of the Service=s
collections are maintained on loan by
museums and other institutions. The
Service ensures that these collections
are safeguarded through compliance
with the Secretary of the Interior’s
curation standards found in 36 CFR 79.
Institutions must maintain the
appropriate environmental, record-keeping,
and security controls in order to
qualify for maintaining Federal
collections. Loan agreements signed by
the Service and institutions create the
basis for ensuring the perpetual care of
these valuable materials.
Information standards for tracking the
location, provenance or origin, and
condition of museum collections are
addressed by Service policy and data
standards released in FY 1998. In an
effort to assist field stations in managing
their collections, the Service released a
new museum property software package
for tracking essential information and
preparing annual reports. The Service
estimates that it will require a minimum
of ten years to account fully for its
museum collections according to current
standards.
Special Designations
The Wilderness Protection Act of 1964
created the National Wilderness
Preservation System. Designations
ensure that lands in the Wilderness
Preservation System are preserved and
protected in their natural state.
Wilderness is where the earth and its
community of life are untrammeled by
human beings and where humans
themselves are visitors who do not
remain. Of the approximately 104.8
million acres in the Wilderness
Preservation System, the Service
manages 75 wilderness areas
encompassing 20.7 million acres in 26
States. This total represents
approximately 20 percent of the National
Wilderness Preservation System. These
lands and resources are kept in their
natural state and protected from man
made disturbances and, as such, the
condition of these lands is maintained so
as to preserve the natural qualities for
which they were originally designated.
Although mostly located in the Western
United States and Alaska, the Service
manages a number of wilderness areas in
the lower 48 States including two located
on the Moosehorn NWR in Maine and
the Cabeza Prieta NWR, Arizona.
Almost one third of the Moosehorn
National Wildlife Refuge is designated
wilderness. Located in Washington
County, Maine, Moosehorn is the
easternmost national wildlife refuge in
the United States. The Wilderness Areas
are relatively remote and are islands of
undisturbed habitat surrounded by
privately owned working forests. The
Bertrand E. Smith Natural Forest Plot
that boasts 160 acres of mature white
pine is within the Baring Wilderness.
Besides several types of forested
habitats the Wilderness Areas contain
two serene lakes, and numerous bogs,
streams and beaver flowages. Two small,
undisturbed islands in Whiting Bay,
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
USFWS/Gary M Stolz
…usefulness
of stewardship
lands to benefit
fish and wildlife
resources.
Eastern Wild Turkey
34 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
known as the Birch Islands, are also
part of the Edmunds Wilderness Area.
Over 220 species of birds use the areas
including nesting bald eagles and
ospreys, and over 40 species of
neotropical migrants. Several of the
old gravel roads that once traversed
the Wilderness Areas serve as foot
trails for the public to gain access to the
Wilderness to enjoy its special character
and pursue hunting, fishing, and wildlife
and wildland appreciation.
The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife
Refuge Wilderness in southwest Arizona
features a natural diversity characteristic
of the Sonoran Desert Biosphere. For
the most part, it remains untouched and
untrammeled by human development.
Few wild places offer such opportunities
for challenge and solitude in the quiet of
the desert landscape. Home to desert
bighorn sheep, javelinas, Sonoran
pronghorn, many reptile species, and the
lesser long-nosed bat, the refuge is
currently developing its Comprehensive
Conservation Plan to guide management
for the next 15 years.
Information on wilderness areas is
reported for each fiscal year in the
Service’s Annual Report of Lands
Under Control of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Wilderness areas
contribute significantly to the Service’s
primary mission and to the purposes for
which the NWRS was authorized by
helping to sustain healthy ecosystems
and wildlife habitat.
For a river to be eligible for the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System, it must
be in a free flowing condition and it must
possess one or more specific value, such
as scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and
wildlife, historic, cultural, or other
similarly unique characteristics worthy
of preserving. Wild and Scenic eligibility
studies are presented to Congress with
a Presidential recommendation, where
final designation is decided by Congress.
There are 154 rivers containing 178
river segments included in the National
Wild and Scenic River System and each
mile designated is classified as wild,
scenic, or recreational. The total system
encompasses approximately 10,931 river
miles of which the Service manages
segments of eight Wild and Scenic
Rivers totaling approximately 1,258
miles in length. These rivers are
destined to always run wild and free as
long as they remain in the Wild and
Scenic Rivers System and, as such, the
condition of these lands and waters are
maintained so as to preserve the natural
qualities for which they were originally
designated. For example, the Service
manages the designated 80-mile
segment of the Ivishak River as part of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska. The Service and the National
Park Service jointly manage designated
segments of the Niobrara River, where
the Service manages that part of the
Niobrara River that flows through the
Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge
in Nebraska.
National Natural Landmarks are
management areas having national
significance as sites that exemplify one
of a natural region’s characteristic biotic
or geologic features. Sites must be one of
the best-known examples of a unique
feature and must be located in the
United States or on the Continental
Shelf. There are 587 designated natural
landmarks throughout the United
States, with more than 40 on units of the
National Wildlife Refuge System
encompassing about 3.5 million acres.
Refuge landmarks vary from the
meandering resacas of Laguna Atacosa
in Texas, part of the Bayside Resaca
Landmark, to the urban Tinicum
Wildlife Preserve at John Heinz NWR in
Pennsylvania. This urban landmark
protects the largest remaining
freshwater tidal wetland dating back to
the first settlements in the region in
1634. Other Service-managed landmarks
recognize important ecological or
geological features deserving protection
and further study. National Natural
Landmarks are designated by the
USFWS/Luther Goldman
St

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Shared Commitments to
Conservation
2000 Annual Report of the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
ERRATA SHEET
FISCAL YEAR 2000 ANNUAL REPORT
U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE
Subsequent to printing of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Fiscal Year 2000 Annual Report, the following errors
were detected. Errors and their corrections are cited below.
Page 37, Subtitle, Analysis of Revenues and Financing Sources, first sentence, as printed,
reads, “In FY 2000, the Service’s total financing sources amounted to $2.282 billion, which is....”
This sentence should read, “In FY 2000, the Service’s total financing sources amounted to $2.263
billion, which is....”
Page 40, CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION, Construction in
Progress (Note 6), amount as printed, reads, “$2,829"
This amount should read, “$82,829"
Page 42, Heading, CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF NET COST FOR THE YEAR
ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2000
“(DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)” should be included as the final line of this heading
Pages 50, Note 9. Unexpended Appropriations. As printed, this Note and its text should be
placed in front of the table, titled Unexpended Appropriations as of September 30, 2000, found on
Page 49 of the report at the bottom of the third column.
Page 80, Heading, Supplemental Information, Performance Costs under the Service’s Program
Goals.
“(Dollars in Thousands)” should be included as the final line of this heading
2000 Annual Report i
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
History and Mission
As an asset of tremendous
environmental, recreational, and
economic importance, this nation’s fish
and wildlife resources represent a vital
part of our natural heritage — one that
is facing increasing pressures every
day. For this reason, the mission of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
grows more complex and critical every
day. As the Service continues to look
for new and better ways to conserve,
protect, and enhance fish and wildlife
and their habitat, its major
responsibilities remain focused on
migratory birds, endangered species,
certain marine mammals, and freshwater
and anadromous fish.
History of the Service
The Service’s origins date back to 1871
when Congress established the U.S. Fish
Commission to study the decrease in the
nation’s food fish and recommend ways
to reverse the decline. Placed under the
Department of Commerce in 1903, it
was renamed the Bureau of Fisheries.
Meanwhile Congress created an Office
of Economic Ornithology in the
Department of Agriculture in 1885 to
study the food habits and migratory
patterns of birds, especially those that
had an effect on agriculture. After
several more name changes, this office
was renamed the Bureau of Biological
Survey in 1905.
The Bureaus of Fisheries and Biological
Survey were transferred to the
Department of the Interior in 1939 and
in 1940 were combined and named the
Fish and Wildlife Service. Further
reorganization came in 1956 when the
Fish and Wildlife Act created the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service and
established within the agency two
separate bureaus — Commercial
Fisheries and Sport Fisheries and
Wildlife.
The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries
was transferred to the Department of
Commerce in 1970 and is now known as
the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and
Wildlife remained in Interior. In 1974,
the “Bureau” name was dropped and the
agency is now simply called the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1993, the
Service’s research activities were
transferred to the U.S. Geological
Survey.
Today, Service employees number
approximately 7,500 individuals located
close to fish and wildlife resources
throughout the country. Offices and
facilities are located in Washington, D.C.,
seven regional offices, and in nearly
700 field units, including 70 national fi
sh hatcheries and over 500 national
wildlife refuges.
Mission of the Service
The Service’s mission is, working with
others, to conserve, protect and enhance
fish, wildlife and plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the
American people.
Since before recorded history, fish and
wildlife resources in the United States
have been an integral part of human life.
We know that the earliest Americans
depended on fish and wildlife for
both life sustenance and spiritual
nourishment. The kinship of aboriginal
Americans to these resources is seen
today in their religious and cultural
activities. The sea turtle is viewed as the
symbol of eternal life with the great
creator. Salmon and other anadromous
fishes were and still are celebrated as
symbols of the renewal of life. Wildlife
served as the spiritual connection with
ones ancestors and the creator of all life.
When settlers came to America, they
found a land teeming with wildlife. Like
Native Americans, they depended on the
land’s rich wildlife heritage for food and
clothing. Colonies were located near
rivers for commerce and travel and for a
rich supply of fish and wildlife for food.
The new settlers fully intended that
freedom to hunt for food and to secure
water for life would be the right of all,
regardless of heritage or status. The
framers of our Constitution recognized
this and placed great emphasis on
natural rights and natural laws. Because
of the American ideal to respect fish and
wildlife as a resource available for the
use and enjoyment of all, it is revered as
a public trust resource — a resource
deserving the public’s attention and
participatory guidance. The United
States continues to refine the body of
case law and statutes governing the
stewardship of fish and wildlife
resources.
Communities and people throughout the
United States have a strong commitment
to the fish and wildlife resources today.
Many communities realize tremendous
economic benefits from tourism and
visitors that come specifically to enjoy
watching and pursuing fish and wildlife.
Hunting and fishing remain strong
components of community culture all
along the great river systems of the
nation. Americans value and respect
their natural resource heritage.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has
the privilege of being the primary
agency responsible for the protection,
conservation, and renewal of these
resources for this and future
generations. We accept this
responsibility and challenge with
optimism and resolve to pass along to
future generations of stewards a fish and
wildlife resource heritage that is as
strong or stronger than when it was
entrusted to us.
ii U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
2000 Annual Report iii
Message from the Acting Director
and the Chief Financial Officer
The year 2000 marks the turn of the
millenium, an event of a lifetime that
only a few generations will experience.
We are fortunate to be of this time and at
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is
true in more ways than one. Through
our cooperative efforts with our public
and partners, we are maximizing our
effectiveness on the ground. Together we
are magnifying our conservation efforts
and reaping the benefits of our shared
commitments to conservation.
The Service, by applying the ecosystem
approach to natural resource
management, is putting into practice
ecosystem principles such as cross
program collaboration within the Service
and partnership building outside the
Service. Ecosystem strategies are
designed to meet the collective needs
of natural resource regions in the
aggregate. Our collective strength lies
in the diversity of our partners and in
the effectiveness of our programs. Our
joint effectiveness lies in our ability to
find common benefits by dovetailing
priorities and challenges on the
landscape level. We are building a
future for shared commitments to
conservation through building lasting
partnerships today.
This Annual Report is testimony to our
partnerships that have enhanced fish and
wildlife resources through innovative
and cooperative management. It
provides a road map of the Service’s
future direction, an overview of the
Service’s diverse programs and
accomplishments, and an accounting for
the funds used by the Service. The
Stewardship and Program Highlights
sections provide detailed information on
the role of the Service in maintaining
healthy environments that fish and
wildlife need throughout the nation and
the world. Under Supplemental
Information, the Service provides
information on the costs of attaining
performance under each of the Service’s
mission goals established for Fffi 2000.
We hope that this report helps you
better understand what we do, how
much fish and wildlife and plants
depend on our shared commitments to
conservation, the costs of our efforts,
and how much more we can accomplish
by working together.
Marshall P. Jones, Jr.
Acting Director,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
iv U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USFWS/Dan O’Neal
2000 Annual Report v
Table of Contents
I. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
History and Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
Message from the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
II. Program Highlights
Sustaining Fish and Wildlife Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Conserving Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Linking Wildlife and People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
III. Stewardship
Stewardship Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Heritage Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
IV. Financial Statements
Overview of Financial Results of Service Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Principal Financial Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Notes To Principal Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Auditor’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
V. Supplemental Information
Performance Costs under the Service’s Performance Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
vi U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USFWS/Craig Koppie
2000 Annual Report 1
Meeting the challenges of providing and
protecting a healthy environment for fish
and wildlife and for people is central to
the programs of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) and is firmly
based on tradition since its predecessor
agencies were established more than a
century ago. Meeting these challenges
requires the cooperation and support of
other Federal agencies, State and local
governments, foreign governments,
conservation groups, and local
communities. Dedicated Americans,
combined with our dedicated
International partners, are sharing a
common commitment to conservation
and are working hand-in-hand with the
Service to ensure that our Nation’s
irreplaceable natural heritage and the
world’s fish and wildlife resources are
protected for the enjoyment of this and
future generations.
Portions of this narrative reference
specific program accomplishments
achieved under the Service’s mission or
strategic goals identified in its revised
5-Year Strategic Plan. This year the
Service selected a subset of specific
strategic goals, one for each of the three
mission goals, under which to report
specific program performance in this
report. Another, more comprehensive
report on all program achievements
under each strategic and mission goal
presented in the Service’s 5-Year
Strategic Plan can be found in the
Service’s budget documents. The
purpose of this report is to highlight
general program achievements of the
Service, in cooperation with its partners,
in a structure that parallels its three
mission goals which are: (1) sustaining
fish and wildlife populations; (2)
conserving habitat; and, (3) linking
wildlife and people through fostering
public use and enjoyment of fish and
wildlife resources. Further, the Service
completed its Statement of Net Cost,
whereby the Service identifies its
expenditures to meet each of the three
mission goals. Please refer to both
sections, the Message from the Chief
Financial Officer and the Financial
Statements, for detailed information on
how the Service identified these costs
and allocated them to each mission goal.
Sustaining Fish and
Wildlife Populations
Many of the nation’s and the world’s
native fish, wildlife and plant populations
are declining or are at historic low levels
due to habitat degradation, inadequate
fish passage, over-use, poaching, illegal
trade in wildlife and wildlife products,
introductions of invasive or
nonindigenous species, poor land
management practices, or urbanization.
In partnership with other Federal, State
and tribal governments, foreign
governments, and a variety of private
interests, the Service is effectively
contributing to the conservation of fish,
wildlife and plants, both nationally and
worldwide.
The Service emphasizes proactive
species conservation for many species of
fish, wildlife, and plants through the
Candidate Conservation Program.
Candidate species are species for which
the Service has sufficient biological
information to indicate that listing is
warranted. The goal of our Candidate
Conservation Program is to prevent
listing of species under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA). This program takes a
collaborative approach with States and
Territories, other Federal agencies and
the private sector to identify species that
need conservation and then
cooperatively conserve those species.
Early action is important because
simpler, more cost-effective conservation
options are made available and
conservation is more likely to be
ultimately successful. Also, potential
conflicts caused by species listing may be
avoided and flexibility for landowners
and land managers can be maintained.
Through Candidate Conservation
Agreements (CCAs), the Service works
with its partners to identify threats to
candidate species, plan measures needed
to stabilize and conserve them, identify
willing landowners, develop and
implement conservation measures, and
monitor their effectiveness. Candidate
Conservation Agreements with
Assurances assure non-federal landowners
that they can continue agreed-upon
activities even if the species becomes
listed in the future. Landowners are
Program Highlights
Shared Commitments to Conservation
2 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
increasingly working with the Service to
undertake conservation efforts for
candidate species, and in return, are
receiving regulatory assurances. The
Service uses both CCAs and Candidate
Conservation Agreements with
Assurances to work with partners to
conserve species. In some cases, such as
the Pecos pupfish and Goodings onion,
conservation has precluded the need to
list. During FY 2000, the Service
implemented more than five
conservation agreements covering six
species, for which the Service hopes to
prevent listing. Monitoring of CCAs
ensures that biological goals for the
covered species are achieved and that
threats to the species are reduced. As
the success for this program grows, so
does the demand for new agreements.
Even with these successes, there is much
work to be done. As of August 16, 2000,
246 plant and animal species were
candidates for listing under the ESA,
more than 100 of which are highly
threatened with extinction. Another 37
species proposed for listing can benefit
from candidate conservation actions. As
of August 3, 2000, the Service had 14
active lawsuits covering more than 23
species regarding petition findings, 7
active lawsuits covering more than 9
species regarding final determinations,
33 active lawsuits covering more than
329 species regarding critical habitat,
and 4 active lawsuits covering more than
4 species regarding merit challenges. In
addition, the Service received 67 Notices
of Intent (NOIs) to sue (involving more
than 193 species) relative to listing
activities. The Service developed a
prioritized list of listing actions for each
region that specifies how the FY 2000
appropriation for listing activities was
spent. Available funding and the number
of court ordered listing actions the
Service must complete this year limits
the number of new species that can be
proposed for listing this fiscal year.
Significant progress has been made in
recovery actions for listed species.
Eighty percent of all listed species have
approved recovery plans, up from 70
percent in FY 1999. It is the Service’s
policy to have recovery plans completed
30 months after final listing and, as a
Goodings Onion
The Service
entered into a
new national
partnership
with the Center
for Plant
Conservation
that will
enhance the
recovery of
listed plants.
USFWS Photo
2000 Annual Report 3
result, new recovery plans are being
prepared for the more than 75 species
listed in FY 1998 and FY 1999.
In FY 2000, the Service greatly
expanded its recovery partnerships with
states, tribes, counties, organizations,
universities, zoos and aquaria,
corporations, and private landowners.
For example, a new national partnership
was created with the Center for Plant
Conservation through a Memorandum
of Understanding that will enhance the
recovery of listed plants. A consortium
of 29 botanical gardens and arboreta
throughout the U.S. supports the
Center and is the only national
organization dedicated exclusively to
conserving rare U.S. plants.
With its partners, Federal, State, and
local government agencies, Tribal
governments, industry, universities,
conservation groups, and interested
individuals, the Service evaluated the
current status and population trends of
imperiled native fishes and conducted
130 projects in 25 ecosystems involving
65 imperiled aquatic species in FY 2000.
Common goals and mutual benefits
resulting from native fish conservation
were identified and put into action. For
example, the Grand Portage Tribe and
the Service conducted a telemetry study
of the imperiled coaster brook trout
movement in Lake Superior and
identified critical lakeshore habitats that
are and will continue to be important to
coaster brook trout restoration. Also,
the Service conducted studies on the
Tombigbee River in Alabama to restore
Gulf race striped bass, the threatened
Gulf Sturgeon, Alabama shad,
paddlefish, river redhorse, and other
native species. Recommendations
from this study will assist the Corps
of Engineers in their operation of the
Coffeeville Lock and Dam, which could
help restore approximately 97 river
miles of historic habitat. Further, the
Service monitored the presence and
distribution of endangered winter run
and threatened spring run Chinook
salmon in the Sacramento/San Joaquin
Delta and Estuary. Information
gathered contribute to water allocation
decisions, which are critical to the
survival of endangered salmon
smolts in the delta.
Service Hatcheries also work with
surrogates for listed fish species,
developing holding and propagation
methods without risk to severely
depleted populations and increasingly
with imperiled species, often obviating
the need for further ESA listings.
Restoring depleted native fish not yet
federally listed, such as the paddlefish
and lake sturgeon strengthens
populations before they decline to levels
that demand extreme actions. These
efforts are conducted in concert with the
ecosystem approach and aid in the
achievement of Service goals focused on
restoring depleted species.
Service Hatcheries are involved in
several cooperative ecosystem team
projects to recover inland aquatic
species other than fish, such as the
endangered Wyoming toad, the fat
pocketbook pearly mussel, and the
Higgins-eye pearly mussel by applying
captive propagation technologies and
providing refugia. Hatcheries developed
and refined culture and refugia
techniques for some of the nearly
200 native mussels species listed as
endangered, threatened, or of special
concern. The Service listed Texas
wildrice as an endangered species in
1978, and since 1996 Service Hatcheries
have played a crucial role in its
conservation. About 200 wildrice plants
are kept at the San Marcos National
Fish Hatchery and Technology Center
and an additional 30 wildrice plants are
maintained at Uvalde NFH (TX).
Through implementing recovery actions,
the Service and its many cooperators
reversed the decline for many listed
species. Approximately 40 percent of all
species listed for ten years or more now
have numbers that are increasing or
stable.
Landowners
are working
with the Service
to conserve
candidate
species and,
in return, are
receiving
regulatory
assurances.
USFWS/Gerry Atwell
Pickerel Frog
4 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
A growing number of species are at
the point where they can be delisted
or reclassified (downlisted) from
endangered to threatened. The Dismal
Swamp southeastern shrew and the
Aleutian Canada goose were delisted in
FY 2000. Species proposed for delisting
include the bald eagle, Hoover’s wooly
star, Gulf Coast population of the brown
pelican, Douglas County population of
the Columbian white-tailed deer, Tinian
Monarch, and northern population of
the tidewater goby. In July 2000, the
Service proposed to downlist and delist
the gray wolf throughout its range in
the lower 48 states. This represents a
significant milestone in the recovery of
the gray wolf.
An increasingly valuable tool is the use
of experimental populations to facilitate
the reintroduction of listed species to
their historic ranges. A proposed rule to
establish the seventh experimental
population reintroduction for the black-footed
ferret, this one on the Cheyenne
River Sioux Reservation in South
Dakota, was published in July. A new
migratory experimental population of
whooping cranes was introduced this
year. Also, progress was made this year
on experimental population designations
for restoring the grizzly bear to the
Bitterroot Mountains in Idaho and
Montana, for improving 16 species of
listed freshwater mussels populations in
Alabama and 4 species of fishes in the
Tellico River, Tennessee.
Another tool integral to the Service’s
overall effort to protect and recover
endangered species is the Service’s law
enforcement program. Service agents
develop partnerships with conservation
groups, State and Federal agencies, and
others, to promote a greater
understanding of the need for
endangered species protection and the
consequences of violating related
Federal and State laws. Special agents
assist in habitat conservation planning
and play a major role in evaluating and
monitoring incidental take permits to
ensure compatibility with current laws
and permit holder compliance. Other law
enforcement efforts that protect and
recover endangered species include
increased patrols to deter would-be
violators, expanded efforts to detect and
prevent the introduction of invasive
species, and additional cooperative
enforcement ventures to reduce
commercial exploitation.
The work of the Service and its
cooperators and partners are showing
results. Under mission goal 1, Sustaining
Fish and Wildlife Populations, and
strategic goal 1.2 entitled, “Imperiled
Species,” the Service set a goal in FY
2000 to stabilize or improve 37 percent of
or 197 threatened or endangered species
populations listed for a decade or more.
The baseline figure for this goal is 532
species. Also, the Service wanted to
preclude 15 species in decline from the
need for listing under the ESA. To
assess whether goals were achieved, the
Service proposed the following
performance targets for FY 2000: (1)
improve or stabilize 197 species listed a
decade or more; (2) approve 15 species
for removal from candidate or proposed
status; (3) remove 10 species from
proposed or candidate status as a result
of conservation agreements; (4) include 8
species in proposed rules to delist or
USFWS/Hollingsworth
In July 2000,
the Service
proposed to
downlist and
delist the gray
wolf throughout
its range in
the lower 48
states. This is
a significant
milestone in the
recovery of the
gray wolf.
USFWS Photo
Gray Wolf
Black-footed Ferret
2000 Annual Report 5
downlist; (5) include 7 species in final
rules to delist or downlist; (6) protect,
restore or enhance 3 million total acres
under HCPs; and, (7) enhance 300
species by protecting them under HCPs.
The Service exceeded its first and second
performance targets by improving or
stabilizing 309 species that have been
listed for one decade or more and by
approving 19 species for removal from
candidate or proposed status. The third
target was not met because of the time
that is required, sometimes up to several
years, before an agreement is reached
and signed by all parties. Additionally,
depending on the biological status of the
candidate species, agreements, although
useful in improving the conservation of
the species, may come about too late and
the species may need to be listed. In
these cases, the conservation agreement
can be the basis for a recovery plan for
the species. However, candidate
conservation agreements, if
implemented early enough in the decline
of a species, or used for species that has
few threats or threats that are easier to
reduce, may result in not needing to list
the species. Only 2 and 1 species
benefited under the Service’s efforts this
year for the fourth and fifth targets,
respectively. The proposed performance
targets for proposed and final rules for
downlistings and delisting were not met
because three proposed rules for the
bald eagle, gray wolf, and brown pelican
required extensive policy decisions,
coordination, review, and revisions within
the Service that affected the timely
processing of other rules. Although the
Service did not meet its sixth
performance target, it still protected,
restored or enhanced over 127 thousand
acres this fiscal year, almost reaching the
3 million acre goal for total acres
protected, restored or enhanced under
HCPs. The Service exceeded its seventh
goal by protecting 415 species under
HCPs.
The Service works with external
partners to protect fish, wildlife and
plant resources to prevent their decline
before they need the special attention
made possible under the ESA. For
fisheries, the Service provides scientific
expertise and technical assistance to
tribes, other Federal agencies, foreign
governments, States, and other
programs of the Service to develop and
implement anadromous fishery
management plans. These plans cover
such culturally and economically
significant species as Pacific and Atlantic
salmon, Pacific steelhead trout,
American shad, sturgeon, American eel,
and striped bass. Service fishery
biologists help with restoring fisheries
through identifying and protecting
crucial fish habitats; monitoring water
quality and quantity; repairing degraded
habitats; and providing unhampered fish
passage. Service biologists assess the
abundance, recruitment, and limiting
factors of wild fish stocks to establish
safe harvest limits, evaluate
management strategies, and design
hatchery products that contribute to
species and habitat restoration.
USFWS/Gary M. Stolz
USFWS Photo
The Service
works with
external
partners to
develop fishery
management
plans for such
significant
species as the
striped bass.
Brown Pelican
Striped Bass
6 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Another important fishery resource
management program helping our
partners is the National Broodstock
Program, which was established over 25
years ago to ensure the availability of
adequate numbers of disease free,
genetically distinct strains of trout eggs
needed to meet the production needs of
the National Fish Hatchery System. The
broodstock program hatcheries
produced millions of trout eggs that
were provided to Service hatcheries,
State cooperators, other Federal
agencies, research institutions, and
universities. These eggs were used by
the Service and State cooperators to
support critical restoration efforts (i.e.,
stocking of lake trout in the Great
Lakes), meet mitigation responsibilities
as the result of Federal water
development projects, and provide
recreational fishing opportunities for the
50 million people who fish annually.
Within its Federal leadership role, the
Service maintains desired strains of
broodstocks to meet the restoration and
mitigation needs of the different aquatic
systems throughout the United States.
Approximately 22 different strains of
trout including rainbow, brown, brook,
lake, and cutthroat are available through
the National Broodstock Program. The
Service continues to receive requests
from State cooperators for additional
strains needed to meet specific fishery
management needs. Strain Management
Plans are being developed for all
broodstocks currently held on Service
facilities. The plans ensure that all
Service broodstocks are properly
managed using established guidelines
for maintaining genetic integrity.
In addition to freshwater and
anadromous species, the Service
emphasizes species conservation and
protection for marine species. Pursuant
to the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA), the Service manages the
northern sea otter in Alaska and
Washington State, polar bear and Pacific
walrus in Alaska, and supports efforts to
recover the listed southern sea otter in
California and the West Indian manatee
in Florida and Puerto Rico. Marine
mammal populations are protected and
enhanced through enforcement,
education, and outreach efforts by
Service biologists.
The Service works closely with Canada
to obtain information on the
management of polar bear populations.
Based on an evaluation of new data
provided and criteria established under
the MMPA, the Service approved two
additional populations from which polar
bears can be sustainably taken under
Canada’s polar bear management plan.
Sea otters have benefited from
cooperative conservation in FY 2000. As
a result of an investigation of a sea otter
that was found shot, a reward of $25,000
was offered to anyone knowing about the
incident. Also, agents have been working
with the California Department of Fish
and Game in learning about the loss of
sea otters from the results of their
necropsy. Service agents provided
assistance to the Monterey Bay
Aquarium, California Department of
Fish and Game, Moss Landing Harbor
Master, and other partners in educating
boat users about the presence of sea
otters and measures they could take to
minimize boat strikes of sea otters.
Migratory birds depending on coastal
and marine environments are receiving
the cooperative attention of the Service
and its partners through the U.S.
National Shorebird Conservation Plan.
This comprehensive plan for the
conservation of shorebirds, the product
of numerous interagency working
groups, was completed in April 2000.
It provides the blueprint that will
allow Federal and State agencies and
non-governmental organizations to
implement effective and responsible
management strategies that will ensure
the long-term conservation of the
nation’s shorebird resources. In FY 2000
Service Law Enforcement
Initiatives — Providing Long-Term
Benefits for the Florida Manatee
Service efforts to protect the
Florida manatee were highlighted
this year by a series of law
enforcement task force initiatives
in areas where manatees continue
to die from boat strikes. Service
law enforcement officers working
details are seeing improved boater
compliance within manatee
protection zones. Service law
enforcement officials are optimistic
about the continued, long-term
benefits to manatees from
educating the public about
manatees and improving boater
compliance with protective
measures.
Manatee
USFWS Photo
2000 Annual Report 7
the Service has 10 active projects where
migratory bird biologists are directly
involved in conservation activities for
shorebirds. These projects include work
such as monitoring and surveying at
remote Pacific Islands to providing
technical assistance to refuges, states,
and private landowners.
Another complex problem with
managing migratory birds is that birds
are lost through colliding with
communication towers. Published
accounts of birds striking tall, lit
structures date back to 1880, with the
first detailed long-term studies on tower
strikes having begun in 1955. In 1979,
the Service estimated bird mortality
from tower strikes at 1.3 million, based
on 505 tall towers. Today, with at least
50,000 lit towers over 199 ft. tall,
conservative estimates put annual
mortality at 4-5 million birds and
number of species affected are on the
rise. Some 350-species of songbirds
collide with communication towers.
Thrushes, vireos, and warblers
apparently are the most vulnerable.
There is growing concern with this issue
and in FY 2000, 36 members of the
Communication Tower Working Group
approved the framework for a
nationwide research protocol and the
statement of work calling for research
proposals and budgets for pilot studies.
With assistance from non-government
partners, the Service anticipates that
pilot studies could begin as early as the
beginning of the next fiscal year. These
pilot studies will provide the base upon
which to design solutions to minimize or
avoid bird losses.
Sometimes populations must be
managed to reduce their numbers
because of conflicts with human uses or
with human infrastructure. In response
to numerous complaints from sport
anglers and others regarding conflicts
with growing numbers of cormorants,
the Service embarked on an effort to
develop an Environmental Impact
Statement for the double-crested
cormorant that will result in a national
cormorant management plan. The public
scoping phase began November 8, 1999,
and ended June 30, 2000, and during that
time 12 public meetings were held
around the U.S. and about 1,500 written
comments were received. Interest is
high and the Service is working to
complete the draft EIS by early fall. In
order to complete the EIS timely,
information collection is essential. For
example, double-crested cormorants at
several colonies in Green Bay, Wisconsin
are being banded to determine local
movements, migration pathways,
wintering areas, and survival rates. This
information will allow the Service to
better understand the population
dynamics of this species and how it may
be affected if population control efforts
are undertaken in the future.
Overabundance of the mid-continent
populations of light geese (lesser snow
geese and Ross’ geese) is being
addressed by the Service and its
partners through aggressive actions
aimed at reducing their numbers. Action
plans are a cooperative effort between
federal refuges and state wildlife
agencies to increase harvest of snow
geese and reduce availability of food to
snow geese on federal and state lands.
Methods to reduce the availability of
food include reforestation, decreased
planting of row crops, and decreasing
the size of controlled burns to prevent
attracting geese. Harvests are
increasing through several methods. One
initiative involves opening portions of
previously closed refuges to hunting of
light geese and developing an
information network to inform hunters
of current locations of light goose flocks
is one method. Part of this initiative
includes developing, in cooperation with
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, a
brochure for hunters using state wildlife
areas and national wildlife refuges.
Brochures describe the damage to
habitat resulting from overabundance,
provide a guide to goose identification,
explain hunter ethics and present ideas
for hunter safety, and suggest snow
goose recipes.
Migratory
birds depending
on coastal
and marine
environments
are receiving
the cooperative
attention of the
Service and
its partners
through the
U.S. National
Shorebird
Conservation
Plan.
USFWS/Rodney Krey
Forster’s Tern with Eggs
8 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Another method to reduce populations is
by changing hunting regulations and
issuing conservation orders that manage
population numbers. As a result, the
harvest of light geese last year was up 40
percent over previous years. Prior to
implementing the special light goose
hunting regulations, the harvest of light
geese during regular seasons was
approximately 600,000 birds. Adding
harvests from special regulations and
the conservation order to the regular
season harvest resulted in a total light
goose harvest of over 1 million. Further,
the Service authorized additional
methods of take, such as electronic calls
and unplugged shotguns to increase
harvest of light geese during the regular
season in the Mississippi and Central
Flyways. In addition, States closed other
waterfowl and crane seasons in order to
implement the special light goose
regulations. With these new
management tools, the Service expects
that total harvest of light geese in the
future will once again be over 1 million
birds.
International partnerships to protect
and conserve fish, wildlife and plants
throughout the world are as diverse as
domestic partnerships forged to protect
and conserve our Nation’s resources.
Global wildlife conservation relies on
international cooperation, education and
enforcement at all levels. Not only is the
Service advising foreign governments,
but also the Service is a catalyst for
community conservation action at the
individual and local level in foreign
nations.
Invasive species stole the headlines in
FY 2000 as Americans felt the effects of
invasive species in their own back yards.
Starlings, brown tree snakes, Killer
bees, Asian tiger mosquitoes, kudzu,
swamp eels, feral pigs, Asian longhorn
beetles, Nile crocodiles, capuchin
monkeys, and West Nile virus are all
invasive species that have come to this
country from somewhere else. These and
other invasive species have profoundly
impacted every state and ecosystem in
the United States. A recent study
estimates that invasive cost Americans
more than $130 billion per year.
The Service has a vital role to play in
preventing the intentional introduction
of potentially invasive species, before
they are allowed into the country. To this
end, the Service is supporting
development of a Global Invasive Species
Database and Early Warning System by
the Global Invasive Species Program
(GISP), a consortium of the Scientific
Committee on Problems of the
Environment (SCOPE), the World
Conservation Union (IUCN), and the
Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau
International (CABI). The database and
warning system will serve as a new tool,
providing ready access to information for
dealing with invasive species issues.
Although some plants may be found in
the invasives repertoire, many more
have served long and well as healing
herbs, minimizing ailments ranging from
asthma to congestive heart failure. The
market for medicinal herbs in the U.S. is
worth more than $3 billion and is
growing at a rate of about 20 percent per
year. At least 175 species of plants native
to North America are offered for sale in
the non-prescription medicinal market in
the U.S; and more than 140 medicinal
herbs native to North America have
been documented in herbal products and
phytomedicines in foreign countries.
Though agencies
aim to be
transparent,
the public is not
always aware of
the many steps
required to bring
sustainable
resources to
market.
Something as
basic as a tag
determines
whether
furbearers,
such as the river
otter, and…
USFWS Photo
USFWS/F.Eugene Hester USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
Snowgeese
River Otter with Fish
Hunting
2000 Annual Report 9
Dozens and possibly hundreds of these
are collected in large quantities from the
wild in the United States.
To address the threat of overharvest of
native medicinal plants, the Service
facilitates the Medicinal Plant Working
Group, an organization made up of
almost 200 members representing
industry, government, academia, Tribes,
and environmental organizations that
operate under the umbrella of the Plant
Conservation Alliance (PCA), a
consortium of ten U.S. federal
government member agencies and more
than 145 non-federal cooperators
representing various disciplines of plant
conservation. The Medicinal Plant
Working Group established a strategic
plan and is beginning to take such steps
to achieve its objectives. The Working
Group is selecting species of concern for
each region of the country for which
conservation measures will be developed
and is providing a list suggested actions
that the public can take to help conserve
medicinals, such as buying products
from cultivated sources.
Sometimes medicines incorporate animal
as well as plant materials. The Service
pays particular attention to the
ingredient list when these animals are
protected species such as tigers and
rhinoceroses. As a responsibility under
the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation
Act, the Service is developing public
outreach efforts to emphasize that trade
and sale of tiger products is prohibited.
Two public meetings solicited input on a
draft outreach plan and sought partners
in the traditional Oriental medicine
communities to implement it. The
meetings were held in New York City
and San Francisco, localities with
significant numbers of traditional
Oriental medicine practitioners and
users. As resource pressures increase
with increased global trade, the Service
expects to be working with many new
conservation partners. Outreach to the
traditional Oriental medicine community
in the U.S. may provide one such
opportunity to develop a new partner.
The Service is striving to increase its
success stories with the regulated public.
For example, the nesting grounds of the
threatened spectacled eider have been
identified and are better understood
because permits allowed scientists to
implant transmitters on birds to monitor
their movements and migrations. Many
programs within the Service, such as
Migratory Birds, Law Enforcement,
Endangered Species, and International
Affairs, are working together to
streamline the process for the public,
improve opportunities for partnership
and promote customer service both
outside and inside the agency.
One important aspect of reform is the
Service’s proposed policy on General
Conservation permits. This proposed
policy recognizes scientific and
conservation organizations working
to conserve protected species as our
partners. The policy limits the use
of general conservation permits to
…American
alligator skins
are verified as
legal and
biologically
sustainable.
USFWS/George Gentry
State and Service
cooperation for
the sustainable
use of American
alligators
represents
stewardship in
action.
non-commercial scientific research and
conservation activities, and bases the
scope of authorization on the degree of
risk to the species and its habitat.
Though government agencies aim to be
transparent, the public is not always
aware of the many steps required to
bring sustainable resources to market.
Something as basic as a tag determines
whether furbearers (lynx, bobcat, river
otter) and American alligator skins are
verified as legal and biologically
sustainable. The sustainable use of
American alligators represents
stewardship in action. In cooperation
with State partners, the Service has
developed a new CITES export program
tag that meets CITES requirements for
product marking and passes both the
durability and ease-of-use test required
by resource producers and State wildlife
personnel.
American Alligator
10 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Partnership does not stop at U.S.
borders. Working with partners to build
consensus on species conservation
proved effective at the 11th Conference of
the Parties to CITES (COP). In
partnership with Germany, the U.S.
submitted a discussion paper on the
trade in freshwater turtles and tortoises
to Southeast Asia. At the Conference,
U.S. delegates participated in a working
group on this issue, chaired by Germany
and conducted in partnership with the
Southeast Asian Parties. A subsequent
adoption of a CITES resolution and
agreement on holding a workshop on this
important conservation issue could not
have happened without significant
cooperation among these Party nations.
Similar cooperation occurred with India
and other tiger range states, which
resulted in establishing a special law
enforcement task force to address the
poaching of tigers and illegal sale of tiger
parts. As the primary importer of caviar
from Caspian Sea sturgeon, the U.S.,
through the Service, works with caviar
exporting countries, such as the Russian
Federation and Iran to adopt a uniform
labeling system for caviar exports.
International conventions work
best when on-the-ground support is
provided to range countries for species
conservation. This occurs through small
grants, such as the Rhinoceros and Tiger
Conservation Fund, which provides
critical seed money for conservation
projects in range countries. One
remarkable example of the Fund’s
commitment to help local people meet
species conservation goals may be found
in Cambodia, now recovering from more
than 30 years of social upheaval and war
that have all but destroyed the nation’s
capacity to conduct research and
conservation. As a result, the status of
Cambodia’s biodiversity and keystone
species such as elephant, tiger, and gaur,
is unknown. Wide spread trade of
endangered species within Cambodia is
believed to be due to lack of regulations
and government policy on biodiversity
conservation; lack of action by local law
enforcement authorities due to their
limited knowledge; and low salaries,
and lack of national and international
cooperation. Other contributing factors
are absence of hunter participation in
wildlife conservation issues and decision-making,
local beliefs in magical and
medical power of wildlife products, and
strong international trade pressure from
neighboring countries. In an attempt to
assess this trade more accurately, an
official of the Cambodian Wildlife
Protection Office, as part of his graduate
work at the University of Minnesota,
conducted a survey of 24 Cambodian
USFWS Photo
The Service
supports
training to
strengthen the
capacity of
communities to
manage natural
resources in the
Special
Biosphere
Reserve of the
Monarch
Butterfly in
central Mexico.
Monarch Butterfly
2000 Annual Report 11
wildlife markets and 12 international
checkpoints. He observed eight live
wild caught tigers, 36 tiger skins, 5 kg
of tiger bone, 6 tiger skulls, 43 tiger
canine teeth, more than 50 tiger claws,
and 1 tiger penis in trade. His data on
where tiger parts are sold, trade routes,
and prices paid will be used to generate
recommendations to the Government
of Cambodia on a conservation strategy
to reduce killing and trade of
endangered species.
Also this year in Cambodia, the Asian
Elephant Conservation Fund, another
small-grant fund maintained by the
Service, supported two projects on
assessing the conservation status of
Cambodia’s Asian elephants and
developing local capacity to insure
their long-term survival. Historical
information suggests that Cambodia
once supported large elephant
populations, and preliminary surveys
suggest that some 500 to 1,000 elephants
may still exist in the wild. Thus
Cambodia likely contains the largest
single elephant population in Indochina.
The Ministry of the Environment and
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries share responsibility for
wildlife conservation in Cambodia. This
multilateral collaboration is among the
Asian Elephant Conservation Fund,
World Wide Fund for Nature, Wildlife
Conservation Society, and Fauna and
Flora International. Collaboration is
helping Cambodian authorities assess
elephant numbers, train Cambodian
biologists in elephant ecology and
monitoring, and develop a National
Elephant Management Plan and a
Khmer language text in elephant
ecology and monitoring.
Although the Service contributes to
the conservation of massive species
such as the elephant, it also supports
conservation of small, fragile species
such as the monarch butterfly. This
year, the Service supported training
workshops to strengthen the capacity
of communities to manage resources
within the Special Biosphere Reserve
of the Monarch Butterfly in central
Mexico. The program focused on soil
conservation, agro-forestry, and organic
gardening. Five communities adopted
sustainable agricultural practices as a
result of this project, with more than
40 families participating. In addition,
peasant promoters are being trained,
so as to reach a greater number of
communities and increase participation
in workshops.
Another important program providing
environmental education and public
outreach is taking place as a result of
collaboration between the Service’s
Wildlife Without Borders (Latin America
and the Caribbean program) and the
Society of Caribbean Ornithology.
Together, they launched an initiative to
collaborate with any interested island in
the preparation of individualized
booklets featuring the common birds of
each island. The goal was to produce
booklets such as “The Common Birds of
the Turks and Caicos,” and “The
Common Birds of Anguilla,” with
illustrations and text on well-known
island birds. The booklets are intended
to stimulate interest and serve as basic
primers on island birds rather than
definitive guides. Currently, 11 islands
are taking part in this educational effort.
The Service’s Wildlife Without Borders
(Latin America and the Caribbean
program) is also an active member of
the North American Bird Conservation
Initiative, which provides comprehensive
bird conservation throughout the
Western Hemisphere. The Service
joins other Federal agencies to establish
effective partnerships and resources.
It contributes to this vision by creating
training opportunities for biologists
in other nations throughout the
hemisphere. Training provides local
natural resources managers with the
tools to manage their respective
USFWS/J Rorabaugh
The Service
joins other
agencies and
nations in
conserving birds
in the Western
Hemisphere
through its
Wildlife Without
Borders
program.
Summer Tanager
12 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
protected areas. Such efforts are critical
to improving international monitoring
and assessment capabilities and
enhancing conservation of migratory
birds in other nations.
Conserving Habitat
Accomplishments in species conservation
are intertwined with and, in many cases,
dependent on the benefits associated
with habitat conservation. Because fish
and wildlife are mobile, habitat loss,
degradation, and fragmentation are key
factors affecting fish and wildlife
populations. In this subsection, the
Service highlights its work with its
partners to protect, restore and manage
priority habitats in sufficient quality and
quantity for the benefit of fish, wildlife
and plant species and the healthy
ecosystems upon which they depend for
survival.
The most visible habitat protection
system of the Service, the National
Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS),
provides a national network of lands and
waters that serves as a secure home for
fish and wildlife and plants. These
refuges provide a lifeline for millions of
migratory waterfowl; open spaces for
elk, pronghorn, and caribou; and wild
niches for the rare and endangered. The
National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS)
is also part of the Service’s land system
or habitat base. Together these key
systems contribute to the overall success
of ecosystem restoration.
Unique among Federal land
management entities, the NWRS is the
only land management system charged
to conserve, restore, and manage
habitats for the benefit of fish, wildlife,
and plants. The National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997
amended and built upon the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act 1966 providing an “Organic Act”
for the NWRS. As a first priority, the
Refuge Improvement Act requires
each refuge to be managed to fulfill
the NWRS mission as well as the
individual refuge purposes. The Refuge
Improvement Act also declares that
compatible wildlife-dependent
recreational uses are legitimate,
appropriate, and priority public uses
of the NWRS. There are six wildlife-dependent
uses — hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and photography,
and environmental education and
interpretation — that, when found to be
compatible, are to receive enhanced
consideration over all other general
public uses of the NWRS.
During FY 2000, the Service published
its final compatibility regulations and
policy, which describe the process for
determining whether proposed uses can
be considered compatible with refuge
purposes. This is one of the most
significant regulations and policy
delineations affecting management and
public use of the NWRS. Compatibility
determinations ensure that wildlife
USFWS/Hollingworth
Species
conservation
is intertwined
with and
dependent on
the benefits
associated
with habitat
conservation.
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Black-shouldered Kite
2000 Annual Report 13
conservation is the foremost
consideration in decisions on whether to
allow proposed uses of refuge resources.
Following the direction provided by the
Refuge Improvement Act, a variety of
refuge public use policies have been
revised, including chapters on general
guidance on priority wildlife-dependent
recreation, interpretation, environmental
education, photography, wildlife
observation, and hunting and fishing.
Additionally, Service policies on
concessions, wilderness management,
habitat management, and ecological
integrity have been revised.
To enhance the educational and
partnership goals of the NWRS, new
classroom opportunities were provided
at 15 units of the NWRS and new Refuge
Support Group programs to support
expanded community partnerships were
implemented. Funding support to hire an
additional seven volunteer coordinators
was provided at the Upper Mississippi
River NWFR, Desert NWR, Texas
Chenier Plain NWR Complex, Reelfoot
NWR Complex, Rhode Island NWR
Complex, Sand Lake NWR, and Arctic
NWR. A community Partnerships Grant
Program was established through a
cooperative effort with the National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation to provide
matching funds to community partners
supporting operations projects on units
of the NWRS. Support for current
education efforts in 14 refuges was
offered and a distance-learning event
was developed for elementary schools
nationwide via satellite computer
linkages.
In FY 2000, a major initiative to
commemorate the centennial of the
NWRS was officially adopted.
Legislation was introduced into the
House and Senate establishing a
Centennial Commission of distinguished
individuals to leverage with partners
to carry out the outreach campaign for
the NWRS and provide direction for
centennial events and programs
throughout refuges nationwide. This
proposed legislation, the “National
Wildlife Refuge System Centennial
Act of 2000,” also calls for a long-term
plan to address major operations,
maintenance and construction needs
of the NWRS.
On May 25, 2000, the Service published
its final refuge planning policy in the
Federal Register (65 FR 33892). The
new policy establishes requirements and
guidance for NWRS planning, including
Comprehensive Conservation Plans
(CCPs) and step-down management
plans. This policy incorporates the CCP
provisions of the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act,
as amended. Key points addressed
in the final policy include basing our
management decisions on sound
science, and elevating our commitment
to maintain and, where appropriate,
restore the biological integrity, diversity,
and environmental health of each refuge
and the NWRS.
The NFHS and its Fisheries Program
partners within the Service are integral
to achieving the goals of protecting or
recovering fish species and restoring
their habitat. There are no simple
solutions to address the protection
and conservation of aquatic species and
the ecosystems on which they depend.
Though specific threats to aquatic
species vary between species and
geographic regions, aquatic species
imperilment and habitat destruction
has a number of common causes. Among
these are intensive water resource use
associated with impoundments and
agriculture; channel modifications and
other activities altering hydrologic
regimes; pollution by chemical toxicants,
nutrient loading, sedimentation, thermal
discharges; loss and degradation of
in-stream habitat, loss or deleterious
modification of adjacent terrestrial
components of aquatic ecosystems; and,
the establishment of nuisance levels of
nonindigenous species. Restoration of
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Conservation
education is key
to community
partnerships.
The Community
Partnerships
Grant Program
is now available
through
cooperation
with the
National Fish
and Wildlife
Foundation.
Interpretive Display at Sand Lake NWR
14 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
degraded or altered habitat is usually
the core challenge to the conservation
and recovery of aquatic species.
The Service uses the expertise of
Fishery Resource and Fish and Wildlife
Management Assistance Offices to
successfully combat and provide
solutions to a variety of aquatic resource
problems on National Wildlife Refuges.
This partnership ensures a unified
approach in conserving aquatic
Also, the Alpena Fishery Resource
Office in collaboration with the staff of
the Ottawa NWR opened a fish passage
structure designed to allow lake use of a
newly restored marsh. This project
provides benefits to 41 fish species that
utilize the refuge.
The Gulf Coast Fishery Resource Office
has developed a plan to restore fish
passage in the Pearl River system of
Louisiana and Mississippi. Located on
the Bogue Chitto NWR, this restoration
plan will open 200 miles of habitat
within the Pearl River that has been
blocked by navigation projects. Striped
bass, paddlefish, hickory shad, and
gulf sturgeon will benefit from the
additional habitat.
The Lake Champlain Fishery Resource
Office located key nesting and over
wintering habitats of the Eastern spiny
softshell turtle on the Missisquoi NWR.
Biologists believe that there are less
than 200 turtles of this species remaining
in New England. This project is a
cooperative venture involving the
Service, the Government of Quebec,
and the State of ffermont.
Under mission goal 2, Conserving
Habitat Through a Network of Lands
and Waters, and strategic goal 2.1
entitled, “Habitat Conservation on
Service Lands,” the Service set a goal
this year to meet the identified habitat
needs of Service lands by ensuring
that 93,883,301 acres (total acreage
managed by FWS) are protected, of
which 3,270,333 acres will be restored
or enhanced. The Service met this
goal this year by increasing the number
of acres managed by the Service in
the NWRS to 93,962,546 acres, of
which 3,287,764 acres were restored
or enhanced.
Under this same strategic goal, the
Service set a goal to complete 80 percent
of contaminated cleanup projects on its
lands according to their original
schedule. Contaminant cleanup
significantly contributes to the Service
being able to provide quality habitat for
fish and wildlife resources. This goal was
met by completing 17 of the 21 scheduled
cleanup projects for this year.
The Service will continue to have the
NWRS and the NFHS serve as the
examples for ecosystem stability in areas
throughout the country and as critical
tools to ecosystem recovery. But the
Service recognizes that these systems
cannot do the job alone.
Restoration of
degraded or
altered habitat
is the core
challenge to…
USFWS Photo
environments for the continuing benefit
of the fishery resource, and recreational
and subsistence interests. In a broader
context, this cooperative management
effort benefits large numbers of aquatic
and terrestrial species that depend on
healthy aquatic ecosystems. The result
of this approach has been a greater
commitment to conservation through
the development and implementation
Fishery Management Plans under the
umbrella of the Refuge Comprehensive
Conservation Plan. For example, the
Mid-Columbia River Fishery Resource
Office in cooperation with the staff of
the Little Pend Orielle NWR, the
Forest Service, and the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife
assessed fish habitat availability and
monitored the presence and trends of
“at risk” anadromous and resident
species in tributary streams of the
Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow river
basins. Efforts were concentrated on
assessing spawning habitat for summer
chinook salmon and assessing habitat
and populations of the recently listed
bull trout. These efforts facilitate the
restoration of over 100 miles of
tributary habitat.
Bass
2000 Annual Report 15
The primary reason for species to be
listed under the ESA is the loss of
habitat. According to a 1993 study by the
Association for Biodiversity Information
and The Nature Conservancy, half of
listed threatened and endangered
species have at least 80 percent of their
habitat on private lands. The Service is
committed to encouraging private
landowners to manage their lands to
help stabilize ecosystems, which in turn
helps prevent species from declining to
the point where protection under the
ESA is necessary.
The Service continued to improve the
conservation of listed species by
expanding the incentives and regulatory
assurances provided to non-federal
landowners through Safe Harbor
agreements. For instance, in July, the
Service issued a Safe Harbor permit for
the red-cockaded woodpecker in Sussex
County, Vrginia that will involve multiple
landowners. This agreement joins the
existing 44 agreements that currently
cover more than 1.4 million acres.
Under Section 6 of the Endangered
Species Act, support from the
Cooperative Endangered Species Fund
is provided to States and territories for
species and habitat recovery actions on
non-federal lands. This assistance is
crucial because most listed species
depend on habitats located on State and
private lands. Section 6 grants assist
States and territories in building
partnerships. Grants also provide
funding for monitoring delisted species
and thus facilitate the transition of
authority from the Service to States
and territories.
Conservation Grants provide financial
assistance to States and territories to
implement conservation projects for
species at risk. States and territories
contribute 25 percent of the estimated
program cost of approved projects, or
10 percent when two or more States or
territories implement a joint project.
Grants reimburse the balance of the
estimated program costs. Requests for
financial assistance by States and
territories for these activities greatly
exceed available funds. In FY 2000, more
than $23 million was made available to
the States for endangered species
conservation. Grants have funded such
projects as The Florida Marine Turtle
Protection Program, Conservation of
Endangered Ozark Cave Species and
Ecosystems, and Lake Wales Ridge
Plants (Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services).
The Habitat Conservation Plan
Land Acquisition Program provides
monetary resources to acquire lands
that complement the goals but do not
replace the mitigation responsibilities
of approved Habitat Conservation Plans.
These acquisitions have important
benefits for listed, proposed and
candidate species and their ecosystems.
Because of their authorities and close
working relationships with local
governments and landowners, States
and territories use Habitat Conservation
Plan Land Acquisition Funds to acquire
such complementary lands. In FY 2000,
at least 12 localities, from California
to Wisconsin, benefited with over
$14.5 million to supplement habitat
conservation efforts throughout
the nation.
USFWS Photo
…the
conservation
and recovery
of aquatic
species.
The Service emphasizes providing
private landowners with the tools they
need to become full-fledged partners in
species conservation. Through the
Landowner Incentive Program,
Congress authorized funding to provide
long-sought financial assistance and
incentives to private property owners to
conserve listed, proposed and candidate
species, along with species that are likely
to become candidates in the near future.
The Endangered Species Landowner
Incentive Program has opened doors,
generated the trust of landowners
through technical assistance and
funding, and leveraged contributions
from partners or sources other than the
Service. The Landowner Incentive
Program is in its second year and has
generated high interest. The Service
reviewed 138 proposals totaling $15.1
million. Of these, thirty-five proposals,
from all Service Regions, were selected
Skate
16 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
for the $5 million in funding provided.
Projects include retrofitting fishing gear
to protect southern sea otters and short-tailed
albatross, fence construction to
exclude invasive species impacting
habitats for numerous Hawaiian species,
and restoration of grassland sites for the
Karner blue butterfly and other listed
prairie plants and insects.
Tallgrass prairie ecosystems and mixed-grass
prairie habitats are important to
the conservation of grassland and other
migratory birds, which is one of the
Partners in Flight Program’s highest
priorities. In FY 2000 the Service
initiated several multi-year studies
throughout the nation to address
population and habitat concerns for
these birds. In Minnesota, the Service, in
partnership with USGS, tested the
validity of a grassland bird conservation
models in the northern tallgrass prairie
ecosystem and some mixed-grass prairie
habitats. The focus is largely on
evaluating the reproduction rates and
limiting factors for grassland passerines,
including Sprague’s Pipit and Baird’s
Sparrow. Sprague’s Pipit populations
have steeply declined as grassland
habitat has been lost. On some National
Wildlife Refuges (J. Clark Salyer and
Lostwood, in North Dakota, and
Medicine Lake and Bowdoin in Montana)
work is underway on the reproductive
needs of a similar suite of species under
different management and
physiographic regimes.
In FY 2000, the Service continued to
encourage private and public landowners
to protect and restore habitat through
both Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Program and the Coastal Program. Both
Programs benefit threatened and
endangered species, migratory birds and
provide improved habitat or access for
anadromous and interjurisdictional fish
and other aquatic species. These
Programs effectively triple their
program capacity by leveraging funds
and resources from other partners.
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Program works specifically with private
landowners to provide them with the
knowledge and tools to improve the
condition of fish and wildlife habitat on
their land. The Coastal Program focuses
its efforts on restoring and protecting
coastal habitats on both private and
public lands. The Program is actively
involved in projects in 14 high priority
coastal watersheds that directly enhance
the livability of coastal communities.
Through the National Coastal Wetlands
Conservation Grants Program, the
Service provided resources to protect
and restore vital coastal habitats. In FY
2000, the Service funded 25 projects
giving 15 States and one territory
approximately $12 million in grants for
acquisition, restoration, management
and enhancement of 6,500 acres of
coastal wetlands. In Wisconsin, for
example, National Coastal Wetlands
Grant funds will help the Department of
Natural Resources acquire 150 acres of
high quality wetland habitat in Door
County. This project, conducted in
cooperation with The Nature
Conservancy, will provide foraging
habitat for the endangered Hine’s
emerald dragonfly, spawning habitat for
Great Lakes fish, and a vital link
between existing protected areas.
Landscape approaches to conservation,
whether at the individual or local site
level or across continents, are essential
to conserve important waterfowl habitat
and wetlands. Since the inception of the
North American Waterfowl Management
Plan in 1986, the Service worked with
regional, national and international
partners to protect and restore habitat
throughout the continent for waterfowl
and other wildlife that use wetlands. The
Joint ffenture partnerships associated
USFWS Photo
Grizzly Bear
2000 Annual Report 17
The Partners for Fish and
Wildlife Program
In 2000, the Partners for Fish and
Wildlife Program provided private
landowners with technical and financial
assistance to protect and restore
habitat on their property. In New York,
the Partners Program worked with
Ducks Unlimited and other partners to
restore a variety of habitats including
approximately 1,200 acres of wetlands,
1,000 acres of uplands, and 10 miles of
riparian and stream habitats. Many of
the projects benefit federally listed
species including the Indiana bat,
Karner blue butterfly, clubshell
mussel, and the bog turtle.
Another example of the Program’s
activities is the Sanibel Island marsh
restoration project in southern
Florida. With assistance from the
Partners Program, the Sanibel-Captiva
Conservation Foundation has
protected and restored over 325 acres
of marsh. Restoration activities
included water level management,
prescribed burns, judicious use of
herbicides, and mechanical removal of
the exotic plants. Selective mowing was
used to enhance native plant
succession and the wetlands were
enhanced to extend their use by fish
and amphibians and provide foraging
habitat for wading birds.
The Partners Program also focuses
some of its energies to educate
America’s youth. In Texas, the Service
organized a multi-agency effort to
construct an outdoor classroom in
Bowie, Texas. Working in cooperation
with the science teachers at the Bowie
Elementary School and many
partners, the Service created two small
wetland areas, removed undesirable
brush from an existing tall grass native
prairie area, and planted stands of
native grass for educational purposes.
Bluebird and other bird houses have
been constructed and disturbed areas
have been replanted with native grass
and wildflowers.
The Service’s Coastal Program
The Coastal Program also provides
financial and technical assistance on
both private and public lands to
restore coastal habitats. One example
is the Gulf of Maine’s efforts to
Habitat Restoration Programs Restore and Protect Habitats
implement protection and restoration
projects that directly benefit Atlantic
salmon and other anadromous fish.
The Program protected 339 acres and
over one mile of A tlantic salmon
rearing habitat. In addition, the
Program provided fish access to
historic spawning grounds by
providing funds and technical
assistance to remove five dams on the
Machias, Narraguagus and Pleasant
Rivers. After the dams were removed,
the Program assisted in bank
stabilization through the use of
geotextiles and native plantings. The
Gulf of Maine Program supplements
these on-the-ground projects with
Atlantic salmon research, mapping
and outreach activities.
USFWS/N Derey
In Michigan, the Great Lakes Coastal
Program, working with numerous
partners, initiated the Belle Isle
Restoration Project. Located in the
Detroit River, the project restored an
island wetland at Blue Heron Lagoon
and a unique lakeplain oak habitat.
On the coast of Maui, the Pacific
Islands Coastal Program is restoring
two rare coastal pool and lowland dry
forest habitats in the Ahihi-Kinau Area
Natural Reserve. Through a
combination of habitat fencing, native
plant establishment, and invasive plant
management, the Program is restoring
habitat for three endangered plant
species, an endangered moth, and
several other rare species.
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Poster
18 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
with the North American Waterfowl
Management Plan continue to be the
connection to delivering a host of diverse
habitat protection and restoration
projects, whereby well over 5 million
acres of essential and diverse habitat has
been protected for the future. Of all the
Joint ffentures that exist there are 11 for
habitat and 3 for species conservation.
In association with Joint ffentures,
there are new “all bird” conservation
initiatives are being launched in the
Northern Rockies, Shortgrass Prairie,
Northern Forest, and Southeast Atlantic
Coastal environments. North American
Joint ffentures are key partnerships
that implement the North American
Bird Conservation Initiative, an
unprecedented alignment of partners
within the conservation community and
society at large. The NABCI conserves
the Nation’s and the continent’s bird life
within a landscape context and is the
most ambitious and effective migratory
bird conservation coalition ever
assembled. Its principal thrust will be
to integrate all existing and developing
bird conservation plans with the North
American Waterfowl Management
Plan. Existing plans include the U.S.
Shorebird Plan, Northern American
Colonial Waterbird Plan and Partners
in Flight.
Another tool designed to protect
valuable migratory birds and other
wildlife habitat across the U.S., Mexico
and Canada is the North American
Conservation Act (NAWCA). In FY
2000, projects funded under NAWCA
standard grants protected or restored
nearly 374,000 acres in the U.S. with
the aid of more than $26 million in
grant funds and over $110 million in
partner funds. Through this partnership
program, more than 352,000 acres were
protected and enhanced in Canada, with
grant support exceeding $17 million and
partner funds reaching beyond $24
million. Mexican projects typically
include education and management
plans affecting large biosphere reserves,
and nearly 62,000 acres benefited. The
NAWCA small grants program affected
nearly 12,000 acres. Twenty-two projects
were funded with $1 million of grant
funds and over $12 million of partner
funds.
Protecting habitat for fish and wildlife
resources depends on our ability to
build strong relationships with our
government partners. Through the
Consultation Program, the Service
works with other Federal, State and
local agencies to ensure that activities
they undertake or authorize are
compatible with species’ needs. Each
year the Service conducts over 40,000
Federal project reviews and issues some
3,000 biological opinions. The Service
continues to use informal and
programmatic consultations to
streamline and expedite review and
identify potential problems during the
early stages of project planning. For
instance, in Wyoming, the Service and
the Bureau of Land Management joined
in more than 500 high priority
information consultations on livestock
grazing permit renewals and transfers
through a streamlined process featuring
a series of “screens” for potential
impacts to listed proposed and candidate
species. The cooperative process enabled
the Bureau of renew grazing permits
before they expired, thereby preventing
disruptions to ranchers’ livestock
grazing operations.
The Service is successfully working
with the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation to streamline
environmental project reviews and
provide protection of important fish
and wildlife resources affected by the
replacement of over 300 bridges in
Pennsylvania. The projects are funded
through a $1 billion dollar authorization
in the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA-21). To accelerate the
The North
American Bird
Conservation
Initiative will
integrate all bird
conservation
plans with the
North American
Waterfowl
Management
Plan.
USFWS/William Sontag
Canada Goose
2000 Annual Report 19
review process, PennDOT, through
an interagency memorandum of
understanding as provided for in TEA-
21, provided funding to the Service to
work exclusively on bridge replacement
projects. As a result, two endangered
mussels (northern riffle shell and the
club shell mussels) and other mussels
have been protected by relocating the
mussels or occasionally, by relocating the
bridges. A protocol is being developed to
protect the Indiana bat, which is
particularly vulnerable to impacts at
bridge replacement projects. These
cooperative efforts have reduced time
delays in implementing bridge
replacements and mitigation
requirements.
The Service worked cooperatively with
the private dam owner and State,
Federal and Tribal officials on the
removal of the Goldsborough dam in
Washington State. The Goldsborough
dam will be one of the first dams in the
northwest to be removed to help restore
traditional salmon runs. The
Goldsborough dam, which is 100 feet
wide and 14 feet high, no longer serves
its purpose for hydroelectric production
or water diversion and blocks fish
species access to their spawning habitat,
bars the return of juvenile salmon and
erodes the creek bed making it
impassable to fish. The removal of the
dam will provide access for chum, coho,
cutthroat trout, steelhead and
endangered chinook salmon to spawn in
most of Goldsborough Creek for the first
time in 115 years. Fish that currently
spawn below the dam are expected to
move farther upstream when the dam is
removed. The decision to remove the
dam will restore 2,000 feet of streambed
and expand opportunities for
recreational fishing.
Linking Wildlife and People
The nation’s ability to sustain
ecosystems, and the natural heritage of
fish, wildlife and plant resources within
them, will increasingly depend on the
public’s active participation in the
stewardship of these valuable resources.
A growing number of the public lack
first-hand experience with fish and
wildlife resources in their natural
setting. Thus, the Service provides
environmental education to help the
public understand how their well being is
linked to the well being of fish, wildlife
and plant resources. This environmental
information must be made accessible to
the public in order to foster their
responsible stewardship of these
valuable resources. Also, private citizens,
whose voluntary participation in fish and
wildlife conservation, have laid a
foundation on which the Service operates
today and have contributed to the
continuing conservation of fish and
wildlife resources throughout the world.
An important planning and conservation
tool made available to our public and
private partners is the ability to locate
existing wetlands and other habitat
significant to the conservation of fish and
wildlife resources. A significant role of
the Service’s National Wetlands
Inventory is to provide the public with
wetlands data that can be used by
decision makers to support conservation
of wetlands and other aquatic habitats.
The NWI has made digital wetlands data
available to our public and private
partners for one million square miles of
the surface of the conterminous U.S. and
made this data viewable over the
Internet. The digital wetlands data also
makes it possible to continuously update
wetland maps in areas experiencing
rapid change. The mapper is a web-based
system that allows anyone with an
Internet connection to view available
digital wetlands data and print custom
color maps and acreage reports on
desktop printers. There is a link to the
Microsoft Terraserver, which allows the
user to view an aerial photograph or a
map produced by the U.S. Geological
Survey for the area displayed. In the
first 11 months of operation, the mapper
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Protecting
habitat for fish
and wildlife
resources
depends on
our ability to
build strong
relationships
with our partners
to ensure that
authorized
actions are
compatible with
species needs.
Red-winged Blackbird
20 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
has allowed Internet users to produce
253,661 custom wetland maps. The
mapping program is reaching a broad
audience in large numbers, with 84
percent of the users located outside of
government service. The wetlands
mapper contributes significantly to the
goal of providing the public with
important natural resource information
so that they may become sound
stewards. The mapper is available on the
NWI web site at http://wetlands.fws.gov.
The Service enters into partnerships
agreements with a wide variety of the
public, as individuals and as
organizations, at the national, regional,
and local levels to benefit the NWRS
and the Nation’s wildlife resources.
Partnerships bring additional skills and
expertise into refuge operations. An
important contribution to community
partnerships was made by Congress
this fiscal year with the passage of
the National Wildlife Refuge System
ffolunteer and Community Partnership
Enhancement Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-242)
on October 5, 1998. The Act brings
recognition and additional authorities
to the Service’s volunteer program,
including authority to establish a Senior
ffolunteer Program, and added support
for community partnerships and
education programs.
The resources and expertise made
available to the Service through
partnerships is wide ranging. Notable
partners include the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, the National
Wildlife Refuge Association, the
National Audubon Society, the
Cooperative Alliance for Refuge
Enhancement (CARE), Safari Club
International, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., the
Outdoor Writers Association, the
Student Conservation Association, the
American Association of Retired Persons
(AARP), and numerous grassroots
partners commonly known as Refuge
Support (Friends) Groups.
CARE consists of a coalition of
sportsmen’s and environmental groups
seeking to raise awareness of the impacts
of insufficient operating funds and the
ensuing threat to wildlife conservation
and visitor services on national wildlife
refuges. This unique support group
includes organizations as diverse as The
Wilderness Society and the National Rifle
Association, and has become an influential
voice for the NWRS.
New community-based “Refuge Support
Groups” are being developed on a
continuing basis nationwide. Groups
consist of local citizens who have
established community partnerships that
support the mission of their hometown
national wildlife refuge. Because group
memberships are derived from private
citizens in communities across the
nation, the NWRS is supported by a
growing constituency, which reflects a
rich diversity of wildlife conservation
interests. This wealth of ideas, skills,
talents, and expertise being woven into
friends groups will both strengthen and
enrich the NWRS.
The National Audubon Society continues
its support through local support groups,
called Audubon Refuge Keepers (ARK),
which are involved in all aspects of
refuge enhancement, from habitat
restoration to environmental education.
More than 75 ARK groups have been
established to assist local refuges. The
ARK program is an integral part of
Audubon’s Wildlife Refuge Campaign,
which works to build a broader
nationwide understanding and
appreciation for the NWRS.
Cooperating Associations are nonprofit
partner corporations, which receive
authorization through the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act of 1966 and the Refuge Recreation
Act of 1962, as amended. Cooperating
Associations work with the Service to
create, produce and sell educational
publications, maps, visual aids, and
natural resource related articles, and
services. These interpretive and
educational materials and services
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
Notable partners
are joining the
Service in
raising an
awareness of
the impacts of
insufficient
resources on…
Hunting
2000 Annual Report 21
enhance visitor understanding of the
natural, cultural, and recreational
resources of the area as well as the
mission of the Service. Sales from
bookstores, managed and operated by
Cooperating Associations, help fund
many of the Service’s interpretive,
educational, recreational and biological
initiatives.
The National Fish Hatcheries provide a
tremendous variety of outreach
programs that promote environmental
awareness and involve the public in
aquatic resource stewardship and fishery
management. Visitors are attracted by
the opportunities that National Fish
Hatcheries provide in aquatic education,
including outdoor laboratories and
education centers. Also, the Service
produces and disseminates newsletters
and boaters’ guides to teachers and
students so they can directly participate
in aquatic resource conservation. The
ages of the students span almost 20
years, beginning with pre-school
children from daycare centers and
ending with graduate students from
major colleges and universities.
Service Fisheries facilities are linked to
many secondary schools, colleges and
universities through formal cooperative
programs under which undergraduate
and graduate students conduct research
or work part-time. Under an education
program begun in 1994, many of our
National Fish Hatcheries initiated
cooperative programs with schools to
provide instruction in fish biology,
aquaculture, fishing, and ecosystem
stewardship. Curricula developed
include laboratory analysis of fish
specimens, principles of applied fisheries
management, and hatchery production
techniques.
Service Hatcheries also host a variety of
special events. For example, fishing
derbies and special social gatherings are
offered, where visitors have opportunities
to learn about aquatic resources and to
participate in programs designed to
strengthen public awareness of the
importance of caring for fishery resources.
The Fisheries Program actively supports
national Fishing Week, an annual activity
designed for outreach purposes.
Fishing clinics, display aquariums,
demonstrations, and environmental
education sessions are highlights of this
event. These events not only expose
children and adults to the joys of
recreational fishing, but also illustrate
the importance of a quality environment
necessary to provide these opportunities.
Fisheries outreach often targets boaters
and anglers. Aquatic nuisance species
(ANS) can have a devastating impact on
native ecosystems. The Serviced attends
State and national boating and sport
fishing shows to educate boaters about
the importance of cleaning their boats
before they are transferred from one
body of water to another. One of the
major pathways for the spread of ANS is
through the transfer of boats and related
equipment from infested to uninfested
waters. Also, the Service uses these
opportunities to educate about lead
sinkers and to encourage them not to use
lead sinkers, because, if ingested, lead
sinkers cause mortalities in waterfowl.
Hatcheries also provide wonderful
opportunities for adults and children to
commune with nature. Hundreds of
thousands of visitors, especially parents
and grandparents who want their
youngsters to better appreciate fish and
fishing, come simply to see fish firsthand.
To encourage these experiences, many
Service hatcheries have aquaria, special
windows and stations where visitors can
see several kinds of fishes, and various
displays that explain the importance of
being good stewards of our Nation’s
aquatic resources.
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
…conservation
and on the ability
of visitors to
enjoy fish and
wildlife.
Fishing
The Adopt-A-Salmon Family is an
extremely effective outreach program
involving thousands of students annually.
As part of this program, students assist
with raising and releasing salmon fry
into local rivers and learn about human
impacts on watersheds. The students
develop a watershed stewardship ethic
and an appreciation for the complexities
of anadromous fish restoration.
22 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Facility condition plays an important
role in providing the public access to
the valuable fish, wildlife and plant
resources protected within the NWRS
and the NFHS and proper maintenance
of Service facilities is a major concern of
the Service. Refuge water management
facilities, fish hatcheries, visitor centers,
buildings, roads, dikes, dams, bridges,
and other facilities represent a major
investment by the American people in
resources that support the mission of
the Service.
The deferred maintenance estimate
for facilities in the NWRS is
approximately $623 million, plus or
minus 15 percent, placing the estimate
within a range of approximately $530
million to $716 million. The deferred
maintenance estimate for facilities
within the NFHS is approximately
$280 million, plus or minus 15 percent,
placing the estimate within a range of
approximately $238 million to $322
million. Based on condition assessment
survey of maintenance needs of Service
facilities, the estimates that deferred
maintenance for aggregate facilities
within both systems is estimated at
approximately $903 million, plus or
minus 15 percent, placing the range
between approximately $768 million
and $1 billion for all facilities under the
jurisdiction of the Service. The Service
recognizes that estimating deferred
maintenance requires the professional
judgment of numerous site managers
gathering information from multiple
sources. These estimates can represent
average costs among several sources or
can be the costs of the last estimate
increased over time to accommodate
inflation since the last estimate. Each
method is acceptable; however,
estimates may vary by 15 percent
above or below any discrete number
provided.
The Service’s estimates of deferred
maintenance are aggregate estimates
for all facilities and for all property
related to facility operations. The
aggregate estimates do not include
construction of facilities not previously
existing, or significant expansion of
existing facilities, or major upgrades of
structures, but rather are estimates of
bringing existing facilities into a
functional or acceptable operating
condition. Maintenance of a minor,
custodial nature, including grass mowing,
snow removal, grounds maintenance,
routine equipment servicing (excluding
preventive maintenance), and janitorial
services are not included in the Service’s
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Bike Trail visit at San Francisco Bay NWR
Under mission goal three, linking
wildlife and people through fostering
public use and enjoyment of fish and
wildlife resources, and strategic goal 3.1
entitled, “Public Use and Enjoyment,”
the Service set a goal to increase
interpretive, educational and
recreational visits to units of the NWRS
and the NFHS. For FY 2000, the Service
worked to increase visits by 2 percent
over that achieved in FY 1999, setting
the goal at approximately 37.5 million
visits. The Service exceeded this goal
with the number of visits recorded at
approximately 38 million.
2000 Annual Report 23
estimate. Equipment replacement is also
excluded from this estimate.
A standard measure of condition for
facilities is a ratio of the estimates of
deferred maintenance needs to the
replacement value of such facilities,
known as the Facilities Condition Index
(FCI), which is a commonly used
industry measure of condition.
Estimates of deferred maintenance
needs represent those field station
maintenance needs that have not been
funded for at least one year. The
replacement value is the estimate for
replacing these facilities at today’s costs.
The FCI illustrates the percentage of its
capital amount that an institution would
have to spend to eliminate the deferred
maintenance. If the ratio of accumulated
deferred maintenance estimate to
replacement value is from 0 percent to 5
percent, the condition of the facilities is
considered as “good.” If the ratio is
greater than 5 percent but less than 10
percent, the condition is considered as
“fair” and if the ratio is 10 percent or
greater, then condition is considered
“poor.” The replacement value for
facilities within the NWRS is estimated
at $5.4 billion and for the NFHS at $889
USFWS/Hollingworth
The Service
exceeded its
goal to increase
interpretive,
educational and
recreational
visits to refuges.
million, with a combined total of almost
$6.3 billion. Based on condition
assessment surveys conducted by the
Service, the FCI for facilities within the
NWRS is estimated at approximately
12.2 percent and for the NFHS at
approximately 31 percent, with a
combined FCI for all Service facilities
estimated at approximately 15 percent.
Therefore, the overall condition of
Service facilities is “poor.”
The Service has a proud tradition of
working with its partners throughout the
Nation and the world to effect solutions
that benefit fish and wildlife resources
and the habitat upon which they depend
for survival. During FY 2000, as with
every other year before, the Service has
enjoyed the increasing support of the
Congress, the President, and the
American public so that we can all work
to benefit our natural heritage and the
world’s fish and wildlife resources. We
look forward to continuing to build new
and nurture existing cooperative
programs so that fish and wildlife
management remains a useful and
productive tool in conserving our valued
fish and wildlife resources for future
generations.
Volunteer at Chincoteague NWR
24 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USFWS/L. David Mech
2000 Annual Report 25
By law and treaty, the Service has
national and international management
and law enforcement responsibilities for
migratory birds, threatened and
endangered species, fisheries and many
marine mammals. Also, the Service
assists State and Tribal governments
and other Federal agencies in protecting
America’s fish and wildlife resources.
Further, the Service manages over 93
million acres in the National Wildlife
Refuge System (NWRS) and the
National Fish Hatchery System
(NFHS). These lands and the fish and
wildlife resources they support are
valued for their environmental and
cultural resources, for their educational
and scientific benefits, for their
recreational and scenic values, and for
the revenue they provide to the Federal
Government, States, and Counties.
Stewardship Lands
Stewardship Lands and Facilities and
Their Locations
The Service manages land in all 50
States, some of the Pacific Islands, the
U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto
Rico. Over 80 percent of the acreage of
the Service’s land holdings are in Alaska.
Lands within the NWRS include 530
refuge units, over 200 Waterfowl
Production Areas, and 50 Coordination
Areas. Lands and facilities within the
NFHS are comprised of 67 National
Fish Hatcheries (including a Historic
National Fish Hatchery), 7 Fish
Technology Centers, 9 Fish Health
Centers, located within 34 States.
Figure 1 displays the acres owned by
the Service for all its land uses. These
lands are acquired through a variety of
methods such as withdrawal from the
public domain, fee title purchase,
transfer of jurisdiction, donation, gift,
exchange, and partial interest through
agreements, easements, and leases.
Figure 2 shows the percentage of
stewardship lands acquired through
these different methods. Lands are
purchased through two primary sources
of funding, the Migratory Bird
Conservation Fund and the Land and
Water Conservation Fund.
Uses of Stewardship Lands
Lands managed within the NWRS are
used to conserve and manage fish, wildlife
and plant resources for the benefit of
present and future generations. The
habitat protected is as diverse as the wild
things living there. Service stewardship
lands protect tundra, grasslands, deserts,
forests, rivers, marshes, swamps, and
remote islands — virtually every type of
habitat and landscape found in the
United States. The fish, wildlife and
plants that live on refuges are the
heritage of a wild America that was, and
is. The Service watches over 700 species
of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250
reptile and amphibian species, more than
1,000 species of fish, and countless
species of invertebrates and plants. They
come as flocks, herds, coveys, gaggles,
schools, pairs and loners. Nearly 260
threatened and endangered species are
found on Service lands, and it is on
refuges and on hatcheries that they
often begin their recovery and hold their
own against extinction. The Service
protects, restores, and manages this fish,
wildlife, plant, land, and water heritage.
We count it, study it, band it, mark it,
and reintroduce it and we let wildlife
come naturally by managing its home
and its habitat. On many refuges the
Service must restore what was ditched,
drained and cleared and actively manage
wetlands, grasslands, forests, and to a
lesser extent, croplands to provide the
variety of habitat needed by diverse fish
and wildlife species. Control of invasive
and exotic pest plants and animals is
essential in order to retain or restore
native fish, wildlife, and plants. Over
three million acres of NWRS lands are
restored and enhanced each year. While
the needs of fish and wildlife must come
first, refuges welcome those who want to
enjoy the natural world, to observe or
photograph wildlife, to hunt or to fish, or
to study and learn about wildlife and
their needs.
Stewardship of the Nation’s fishery and
aquatic resources, through the NFHS,
has been a core responsibility of the
Service for over 120 years. Although the
Stewardship
Stewardship Assets
26 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Figure 1
Annual Stewardship Information For The Years Ended September 30, 2000 and 1999
(Acres In Thousands)
2000 1999
Sites Acres Sites Acres
National Wildlife Refuge System:
National Wildlife Refuges 530 87,790 521 87,627
Coordination Areas 50 197 50 197
Waterfowl Production Areas 201 725 200 715
Total NWRS 781 88,712 771 88,539
Total NFHS 83 12 83 16
Total FWS Lands 864 88,724 854 88,555
Figure 2
Federal Transfers (1.00%)
Non-Federal Donations (2.00%)
FWS Purchased (5.00%)
Withdrawn from
Public Domain (92.00%)
2000 Annual Report 27
America’s
National Wildlife
Refuges…
USFWS/David Vogel
Service does not own all the lands and
facilities in the NFHS, the Service
participates in managing units within the
NFHS, which is comprised of National
Fish Hatcheries, Fish Health Centers,
and Fish Technology Centers. Many of
our hatcheries serve as outdoor
laboratories for school groups,
environmental organizations, and
universities. Visitor Centers on many
hatcheries provide public education
opportunities for the approximately three
million visitors each year. Fish Health
Centers focus on cooperative work
conducted by Federal, State and Tribal
fishery managers to identify and control
fish pathogens and diseases, particularly
in wild stocks. Fish Technology Centers
emphasize scientific management of fish
stocks and aquatic communities by
improving technologies in fish
propagation, broodstock management,
stock assessment, and aquaculture.
NFHS lands also provide refugia,
technology development and captive
propagation for over 30 species of
threatened and endangered plants and
animals, from Texas wild rice to Wyoming
toads to Ozark cavefish. In addition to
conservation, restoration, and
management of fish and wildlife resources
and their habitats, the NFHS provides
recreational opportunities to the public,
such as fishing, hiking, and bird watching.
All programs contributing to
stewardship actions on Service lands
are tied to supporting the Service’s
mission — ‘working with others to
conserve, protect and enhance fish,
wildlife, and plants and their habitats for
the continuing benefit of the American
people.’ The Service also recognizes the
role that our Federal, State, Tribal, and
private partners play in building on the
successes realized by the Service in
conserving stewardship resources.
Revenue from Stewardship Assets
The Recreation Fee Demonstration
Program continues to be a highly
successful endeavor for the participating
units of the NWRS. Several new sites
were added in FY 2000, including Big
Oaks National Wildlife Refuge in
Indiana, one of our newest refuges. The
participating sites collected over $3
million, with at least 80 percent of that
returning to the refuges that collected it.
Refuges use these funds to enhance
visitor experiences and improve visitor
services through restoring and
maintaining trails, developing
interpretive programs, improving signs,
and creating accessible wildlife
observation platforms.
Also, the Service makes payments to
counties in which Service lands and
holdings are located. Funding for these
payments is derived from a combination
of annual appropriations and revenues
generated through the sale of products
from Service lands incidental to habitat
management, such as timber and oil and
gas receipts. Payments to counties in FY
2000 totaled over $16.4 million, which is
approximately 58 percent of full
entitlement.
The Service’s Federal Aid in Sport Fish
Restoration and the Federal Aid in
Wildlife Restoration Programs are the
mainstays of State fish and wildlife
resource management efforts. Excise
taxes, collected from manufacturers of
equipment used in hunting and fishing,
sport shooting on ranges, and on
motorboat fuels, are deposited into a
trust fund and Treasury account for
investment and then, after appropriate
deductions, are apportioned to each
State. In FY 2000 apportionments of
Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration
funding for the States totaled
$434,106,544. The last 5-year average
apportionment to the States is over $176
million for wildlife and more than $239
million for sport fish restoration. Also in
FY 2000, $6 million was made available
for the National Outreach and
Communications Program authorized
by the Transportation Equity Act for
the 21st Century enacted in 1998. This
law provides the 30 million anglers and
78 million boaters of America with
additional resources through FY 2003
for sport fisheries management and
USFWS/William Hartgrove
USFWS/Mark Ranzon USFWS/Tom Smylie
where wildlife
comes naturally!
28 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
restoration. This is not a gift from
Congress, but rather is the model “user-pays,
user-benefits” program. Users
contribute through revenues collected
from motorboat and small engine fuels
taxes and excise taxes on fishing tackle,
electric trolling motors, flasher-type
sonar fish finders, and import duties on
fishing tackle and pleasure boats.
Net Change in Stewardship Land
Acreage from 1999 to 2000
The Service acquired fee title or other
interests in nearly 325,710 acres of
stewardship lands. These lands provide
permanent protection for valuable
wetland, riparian, coastal and upland
habitat for fish, wildlife and plant
species, including threatened and
endangered species.
The Service increased the number of
units to the National Wildlife Refuge
System in FY 2000 from 521 in FY 1999
to 530 in FY 2000. Six new refuges were
established — the Big Oaks NWR in
Indiana, Cat Island NWR in Louisiana,
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes NWR in
California, North Dakota Wildlife
Management Area in North Dakota, the
Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR in
Minnesota, and the John W. and Louise
Seier NWR in Nebraska. In addition, the
individual satellite units that were
previously known as the Mark Twain
NWR became four individual refuges in
FY 2000 (the Port Louisa NWR in Iowa
and Illinois; and the Great River NWR,
the Two Rivers NWR and the Middle
Mississippi River NWR all located in
Missouri and Illinois).
The Big Oaks Oaks NWR was
established on the site of the
Department of the Army’s former
Jefferson Proving Ground near Madison,
Indiana. The Service will operate the
refuge through a 25-year real estate
permit with the Army retaining
ownership of the land. The Big Oaks
NWR provides habitat for 120 species of
breeding birds, the Federally
endangered Indiana bat and 41 species
of fish. It is also home to white-tailed
deer, wild turkey, river otters and
coyotes. The Indiana Department of
Natural Resources has identified 46 rare
species of plants on the site.
The new Cat Island NWR in the West
Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, was
established with the acquisition of a 632-
acre tract from the Louisiana Nature
Conservancy. This refuge is unique in
that it has the national champion bald
cypress tree located within the boundary
and is along an unlevied portion of the
Mississippi River.
The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes NWR
was established with a donation from
The Nature Conservancy. TNC
purchased it with grant money from the
California Coastal Conservancy to
protect a rare, and relatively intact
ecosystem. More than 200 species of
Stewardship of
the Nation’s fish
and wildlife
resources has
been a core
responsibility of
the Service for
over 120 years.
USFWS Photo
Bald Eagle and FWS Refuge Employee
2000 Annual Report 29
migratory and resident birds use the
refuge and surrounding areas and over a
million whimbrels are found in the area.
Other species include the coast garter
snake, Western fence lizard and Pacific
western big-eared bat. The Western
snowy plover, California least tern and
southern sea otter are among other
federally listed endangered and
threatened species that use the refuge.
A new wildlife management area, the
North Dakota WMA, was established to
restore and protect critical tallgrass
prairie habitat in eastern North Dakota,
primarily through the purchase of
easements from willing sellers. Native
tallgrass prairie is one of the most
endangered and fragmented forms of
wildlife habitat in North America.
Ninety-nine percent of the original
prairie is gone from this Region.
The Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR
was established to preserve and restore
the northern tallgrass prairie and
associated habitat throughout various
locations in western Minnesota and
northwestern Iowa. These lands are the
only remaining cover available to
grassland-dependent wildlife in a
predominantly agricultural area. Eleven
species of wildlife and plants found in the
project area are federally listed under
the Endangered Species Act.
The John W. and Louise Seier NWR was
established in Rock County, Nebraska,
through a donation by the Johnnie Seier,
Inc. Trust. The refuge is made up of
predominately upland sandhill prairie,
and temporary and seasonal wetlands.
It provides important habitat for all
sandhill species of resident wildlife, as
well as nesting habitat and migration
resting sites for waterfowl, neotropical
birds, shorebirds and wading birds.
Through these new additions to the
NWRS, the Service is committed to the
preservation of biodiversity and the
management of resources on an
ecosystem basis. Land acquisition and
balancing of NWRS and the NFHS
resources are important tools used by
the Service for attaining these goals.
Condition of Stewardship Lands
The Service has stewardship
responsibilities for the lands and
associated heritage assets under its
jurisdiction, which are intertwined with
the condition of the fish, wildlife and
plant resources that depend on Service
stewardship assets for their well-being
and, in some cases, their survival.
Service resources are managed or
maintained in a state or condition so that
fish and wildlife resources are conserved
and protected for the continuing benefit
of Americans and in a manner consistent
with the requirements of conservation
designations.
Stewardship lands managed by the
Service include refuges, fish hatcheries,
wilderness areas, National Natural
Landmarks, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and
other special designations and are used
and managed in accordance with the
explicit purposes of the statutes
authorizing their acquisition or
USFWS Photo
The fish, wildlife
and plants that
live on refuges
are the heritage
of a wild America
that was, and is.
Red-tailed Hawk, Bosque Del Apache NWR
30 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
designation and directing their use and
management. Lands placed in the land
conservation systems managed by the
Service are protected into perpetuity as
long as they remain in the NWRS and
the NFHS. As new acquisitions enter
these conservation systems, lands are
managed to maintain their natural state,
to mitigate adverse effects of actions
previously conducted by others, or to
enhance existing conditions to improve
benefits to fish and wildlife resources.
The Service safeguards the stewardship
values of the lands it administers
through management actions taken on
individual refuges and hatcheries;
however, such actions are taken in
consideration of the needs and purposes
of entire conservation systems, the
NWRS and the NFHS. The NWRS and
the NFHS are conservation systems that
provide integrated habitat and life
support for both permanent resident
populations and for migratory
populations needing temporary stopover
sites to rest, breed, feed, and to survive
nationwide and, in some cases,
worldwide seasonal migrations. While
some individual units of stewardship
lands can be improved at any time
during their management cycles, the
condition of the stewardship assets as a
whole, protected by inclusion in both the
NWRS and the NFHS, is sufficient to
support the mission of the Service and
the statutory purposes for which these
conservation systems were authorized.
The Service assesses the condition of its
stewardship lands and resources
through monitoring habitat
characteristics and determining whether
management actions are needed to
change those characteristics to benefit
their usefulness to fish and wildlife
resources. For example, the Service
monitors habitat condition through
assessment studies to determine habitat
quality. Based on such studies, the
Service may determine that specific
management and protection actions are
necessary. For example, sites may be
restored to improve habitat for identified
species or moist soils and wetlands may
be managed to improve habitat
productivity. New or different integrated
pest management practices may be used
to benefit stressed refuge resources or
law enforcement actions may be
increased to prevent potential or
discovered illegal use of refuge
resources. A wide variety of techniques,
such as grazing, haying, prescribed
burning, and farming, necessary to meet
local and System resource management
goals, may be used by the Service to
promote the habitat characteristics
necessary to benefit fish and wildlife
resources throughout the NWRS and to
meet the conservation goals of the
Service. Thus, condition of stewardship
lands managed by the Service is not in a
static state. Land or habitat condition
may be changing, either through the
imposition of management techniques or
through natural stressors or processes
acting on those lands. It is the goal of the
Service to provide habitat that optimizes
the usefulness of stewardship lands to
benefit fish and wildlife resources.
Heritage Assets
Some of the Service’s stewardship lands
fall into the category of heritage assets.
Heritage assets are those lands,
buildings and structures, and associated
resources recognized for their ecological,
cultural, historical and scientific
importance. Heritage assets also include
cultural resources, such as
archaeological resources and historic
properties, and museum collections
derived from lands and facilities
managed by the Service.
Heritage assets include those lands
managed by the Service that carry
overlay or special designations
authorized by Congress, the President,
the Secretary of the Interior or by
conventions of national or international
stature. Thus, heritage assets also
include Wilderness Areas, Wild and
Scenic Rivers, National Natural
USFWS Photo
USFWS/Hollingsworth
Service lands
are conservation
systems that
provide
integrated
habitat and
life support for
both resident
and migratory
populations…
Northern Cardinal
Bighorn Sheep
2000 Annual Report 31
Landmarks, and Wetlands of
International Importance. Such lands
managed by the Service protect valuable
natural and cultural resources in every
State and a number of U.S. territories
and possessions. The protection of these
lands benefits not only the Nation’s fish
and wildlife populations, but helps
preserve important elements of our past
and cultural diversity. The condition of
all lands managed by the Service,
including those lands represented by
special designations of national or
international importance, are discussed
in previous paragraphs as well as in this
section. Special designations are
managed or maintained in a manner that
preserves the values that originally
qualified these assets for their special
designations. The status and condition of
cultural resources, museum collections,
and facilities defined as heritage assets
are discussed below.
Condition of Heritage Asset Facilities
Heritage assets are defined as property,
plant and equipment of historical,
natural, cultural, educational, or artistic
significance. The Service defines those
sites and facilities under its
administration that have nationally
recognized historical or cultural
designations as heritage assets. Please
refer to the Program Highlights section
of this report for details on the deferred
maintenance needs of all facilities
managed by the Service. From this
information, the Service concludes that
the infrastructure that supports the
mission work of the Service is suffering
from accelerated deterioration. The
overall condition of facilities managed by
the Service, which includes heritage
assets, is found to be in poor condition
and in need of repair.
Cultural Resources
Lands managed by the Service are
particularly important for protecting
significant sites associated with the
Nation’s prehistory and history. By
closely examining their geographic
distribution, an obvious pattern unfolds.
Service lands are located along major
river corridors, coastal areas, or in
association with wetlands and North
America’s migratory bird flyways.
Humans have used these same areas for
thousands of years for transportation,
settlement, and subsistence.
Archaeological and historic sites located
on these lands contribute important
information on changes to habitat and
wildlife over time and offer fish and
wildlife conservation partnership
opportunities with local communities
and tribes.
As of FY 2000, the Service documented
over 11,000 archaeological and historic
sites on a small percentage of its lands
and estimates that it is responsible for
tens of thousands of additional sites yet
to be identified. Cultural properties
range in age and type from the Sod
House historic ranch on the Malheur
NWR, Oregon to early 20th Century
military fortifications in the Fort Dade
on Egmont Key NWR, Florida to a
10,000 year old archaeological site on a
refuge in Tennessee, to a segment of the
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
on the Charles M. Russell NWR,
Montana, to the Victorian-era historic
buildings on the D.C. Booth Historic
Fish Hatchery in South Dakota. Cultural
properties managed by the Service
reflect our Nation’s rich heritage and
diversity.
Of the total number of known cultural
resources, an estimated 81 sites or
districts have been listed in the National
Register of Historic Places. The Service
also manages 9 National Historic
Landmarks designated by the Secretary
of the Interior to protect and recognize
sites of exceptional importance.
Each Service Regional Office for the
field stations under its jurisdiction
maintains inventories and records of
archaeological and historic sites.
Service-wide information on the number
and status of archaeological properties is
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
…needing
temporary
stopover sites to
rest, breed, feed,
and survive.
Tundra Swan
White-tailed Deer
32 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
summarized each year for the Secretary
of the Interior=s report to Congress
required by the Archaeological
Resources Protection Act.
The physical condition of cultural
resources managed by the Service varies
tremendously, depending on location,
maintenance, use, and type of resource.
While no comprehensive assessment is
available, the Service is developing
guidance and criteria to begin collecting
information. The Service estimates that
a minimum of 10 years is required to
assess the condition of identified cultural
resources under its jurisdiction.
Museum Collections
Service museum collections consist of
approximately 2.8 million objects
maintained in 150 offices or on loan to
over 200 non-Federal repositories for
study and long-term care. Collections
consist of archaeological materials
excavated from Service managed
cultural resources; paleontological
collections; objects and documents
associated with the agency’s history;
wildlife art; and, wildlife, fisheries, and
botanical specimens. Service collections
are used for educational and interpretive
programs, research on changes to
habitat and wildlife, and maintaining the
history and traditions of the Service’s
programs and employees.
In FY 2000, the Service helped sponsor a
field school operated by the Museum of
the Rockies and the University of
California-Berkeley to survey and
excavate dinosaur fossils from the Hell
Creek Formation on the Charles M.
Russell National Wildlife Refuge,
Montana. The session was part of a five-year
program to survey the refuge’s
world-renowned fossil beds to identify
the remains of mammals, invertebrates,
dinosaurs and plants. During the field
session, a duckbill dinosaur and
triceratops were excavated and a new T-Rex
skeleton was discovered that will be
excavated in 2001. A Discovery Channel
film crew was on hand during the
excavations to collect footage for a
possible television special. Collections
from the excavations will be stored at the
Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman for
study and possible future display.
The Service maintains a collection of
artwork at the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia under a long-term
loan agreement. The collection
consists of 487 pieces of artwork created
by notable painters such as Louis
Agassiz Fuertes, Ernest Thompson
Seton, and Jay Norwood (Ding) Darling.
The artists were commissioned by the
Bureau of Biological Survey, a
predecessor to the Service, during the
late 19th and early 20th centuries to
depict various wildlife species and
landscapes for use in government
publications. Under the agreement, the
Academy maintains the collection in a
climate controlled and secures storage
area to prevent deterioration and loss.
USFWS/Elise Smith
USFWS/Ashton Graham
The Service’s
goal is to provide
habitat that
optimizes the…
Striper
2000 Annual Report 33
The Service continues to accession new
museum collections each year, primarily
as a result of the scientifically controlled
excavation of archaeological sites on its
lands. The overall condition of Service
museum collections is adequate to good.
Over 82 percent of the Service=s
collections are maintained on loan by
museums and other institutions. The
Service ensures that these collections
are safeguarded through compliance
with the Secretary of the Interior’s
curation standards found in 36 CFR 79.
Institutions must maintain the
appropriate environmental, record-keeping,
and security controls in order to
qualify for maintaining Federal
collections. Loan agreements signed by
the Service and institutions create the
basis for ensuring the perpetual care of
these valuable materials.
Information standards for tracking the
location, provenance or origin, and
condition of museum collections are
addressed by Service policy and data
standards released in FY 1998. In an
effort to assist field stations in managing
their collections, the Service released a
new museum property software package
for tracking essential information and
preparing annual reports. The Service
estimates that it will require a minimum
of ten years to account fully for its
museum collections according to current
standards.
Special Designations
The Wilderness Protection Act of 1964
created the National Wilderness
Preservation System. Designations
ensure that lands in the Wilderness
Preservation System are preserved and
protected in their natural state.
Wilderness is where the earth and its
community of life are untrammeled by
human beings and where humans
themselves are visitors who do not
remain. Of the approximately 104.8
million acres in the Wilderness
Preservation System, the Service
manages 75 wilderness areas
encompassing 20.7 million acres in 26
States. This total represents
approximately 20 percent of the National
Wilderness Preservation System. These
lands and resources are kept in their
natural state and protected from man
made disturbances and, as such, the
condition of these lands is maintained so
as to preserve the natural qualities for
which they were originally designated.
Although mostly located in the Western
United States and Alaska, the Service
manages a number of wilderness areas in
the lower 48 States including two located
on the Moosehorn NWR in Maine and
the Cabeza Prieta NWR, Arizona.
Almost one third of the Moosehorn
National Wildlife Refuge is designated
wilderness. Located in Washington
County, Maine, Moosehorn is the
easternmost national wildlife refuge in
the United States. The Wilderness Areas
are relatively remote and are islands of
undisturbed habitat surrounded by
privately owned working forests. The
Bertrand E. Smith Natural Forest Plot
that boasts 160 acres of mature white
pine is within the Baring Wilderness.
Besides several types of forested
habitats the Wilderness Areas contain
two serene lakes, and numerous bogs,
streams and beaver flowages. Two small,
undisturbed islands in Whiting Bay,
USFWS/F. Eugene Hester
USFWS/Gary M Stolz
…usefulness
of stewardship
lands to benefit
fish and wildlife
resources.
Eastern Wild Turkey
34 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
known as the Birch Islands, are also
part of the Edmunds Wilderness Area.
Over 220 species of birds use the areas
including nesting bald eagles and
ospreys, and over 40 species of
neotropical migrants. Several of the
old gravel roads that once traversed
the Wilderness Areas serve as foot
trails for the public to gain access to the
Wilderness to enjoy its special character
and pursue hunting, fishing, and wildlife
and wildland appreciation.
The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife
Refuge Wilderness in southwest Arizona
features a natural diversity characteristic
of the Sonoran Desert Biosphere. For
the most part, it remains untouched and
untrammeled by human development.
Few wild places offer such opportunities
for challenge and solitude in the quiet of
the desert landscape. Home to desert
bighorn sheep, javelinas, Sonoran
pronghorn, many reptile species, and the
lesser long-nosed bat, the refuge is
currently developing its Comprehensive
Conservation Plan to guide management
for the next 15 years.
Information on wilderness areas is
reported for each fiscal year in the
Service’s Annual Report of Lands
Under Control of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Wilderness areas
contribute significantly to the Service’s
primary mission and to the purposes for
which the NWRS was authorized by
helping to sustain healthy ecosystems
and wildlife habitat.
For a river to be eligible for the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System, it must
be in a free flowing condition and it must
possess one or more specific value, such
as scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and
wildlife, historic, cultural, or other
similarly unique characteristics worthy
of preserving. Wild and Scenic eligibility
studies are presented to Congress with
a Presidential recommendation, where
final designation is decided by Congress.
There are 154 rivers containing 178
river segments included in the National
Wild and Scenic River System and each
mile designated is classified as wild,
scenic, or recreational. The total system
encompasses approximately 10,931 river
miles of which the Service manages
segments of eight Wild and Scenic
Rivers totaling approximately 1,258
miles in length. These rivers are
destined to always run wild and free as
long as they remain in the Wild and
Scenic Rivers System and, as such, the
condition of these lands and waters are
maintained so as to preserve the natural
qualities for which they were originally
designated. For example, the Service
manages the designated 80-mile
segment of the Ivishak River as part of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska. The Service and the National
Park Service jointly manage designated
segments of the Niobrara River, where
the Service manages that part of the
Niobrara River that flows through the
Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge
in Nebraska.
National Natural Landmarks are
management areas having national
significance as sites that exemplify one
of a natural region’s characteristic biotic
or geologic features. Sites must be one of
the best-known examples of a unique
feature and must be located in the
United States or on the Continental
Shelf. There are 587 designated natural
landmarks throughout the United
States, with more than 40 on units of the
National Wildlife Refuge System
encompassing about 3.5 million acres.
Refuge landmarks vary from the
meandering resacas of Laguna Atacosa
in Texas, part of the Bayside Resaca
Landmark, to the urban Tinicum
Wildlife Preserve at John Heinz NWR in
Pennsylvania. This urban landmark
protects the largest remaining
freshwater tidal wetland dating back to
the first settlements in the region in
1634. Other Service-managed landmarks
recognize important ecological or
geological features deserving protection
and further study. National Natural
Landmarks are designated by the
USFWS/Luther Goldman
St